Notailed Biju
by shongnom
Summary: Inspired by the ANBU Shinigami story eheh... Naruto cross-over and a smidgen of XXXholic crossover. Hanatarou's gon be a Jinchuuriki. some SPOILERS** for Naruto and Bleach manga. After that it's all made up. XXXholic parts are not based on the manga
1. Prelude Jinchuuriki

_Hallo people! this is my first fanfiction!! yea, i was ixbitexu (was that correct?) if you remember me from Reviews. uuhh... yea so HAnatarou...is gonna be a Jinchuuriki. and a cool clumsy shinobi_

_The thing with Hanatarou being a shinobi from Naruto. I was sooo... inspired? i guess by Tsukasa of the Azure Sea's **ANBU Shinigami**. its a cool fanfiction, go give it a try. There's gonna be angst, i know that, and pardon me if the grammar in my story sucks. I reaallyy suck at grammar. the scene is gonna start when Hanatarou was slashed by Rukia in Hueco Mundo. after that it's allll made up. I hope I don't make any of the original bleach characters too OOC- I dun like it when that happens.. anyways, hope this is interesting for ya_

**gnomgnomgnomgnomgnomgnomgnomgnomgnomgnomgnmonm**

**Prelude- Jinchuuriki**

The body of a small Shinigami lays unconscious, his body an inch deep in water.

"_Oi, kid…brat…Hanatarou, wake up…I said, wake up…!"_

Hanatarou groaned and slowly opened his eyes. Wait…did he open his eyes? Everything was pitch black!

'A-ah, I-I must be in my unconscious…,' Hanatarou thought. The cool darkness seemed to caress his skin, giving him goose bumps. He got up from the watery surface, but his body not wet from the water.

"_Oh kiiid I know you're up now. It's been so long since we've had a one-on-one chat."_

The little shinigami stiffened as he heard the husky voice. His head turned to the direction of the voice and saw a full-length mirror in the middle of the darkness. Gray-blue eyes narrowed slightly as Hanatarou slowly walked over to the mirror.

His reflection came into view.

It looked just like him but it wasn't him. Lazy, half-lidded golden eyes, arms crossed in an arrogant posture, and a sneer greeted him back. A complete contrast in personality to the real body.

"_Yo,"_ the reflection gave a mock salute. _"It's been a long time since we've talked to each other."_

Hanatarou ignored it and instead, scanned through the darkness for the familiar comforting spirit of a gourd flower.

"_Hisagomaru isn't here. You forgot her back in Seireitei didn't you."_ The reflection let out a snicker at its host's guilty expression. _"It's amazing how she puts up with it."_

"What am I doing here? Why are you here?" Hanatarou mumbled. The laughter stopped and his reflection gave him a grave look.

"_It's pathetic really… You forget your sword again. Then, you lose after one slash from a weak, little girl-"_

"D-don't say that about Rukia-san!" Hanatarou stammered.

His reflection snarled.

"_If it wasn't for me, you'd be dead! Just healing you halfway has depleted my energy. We were lucky your fukutaichou was nearby and did the rest of the healing. You know how cranky I can get when I'm tired."_

Hanatarou let out a gasp as a hand shot out of the mirror to grasp his clothes and lift him up. The hand pulled him towards the mirror until he came face-to-face with his reflection.

"_Be more careful, brat"_ It hissed, cold golden eyes glaring. Was that worry in its voice? The hand let go and the shinigami yelped as he fell to the wet floor. He hissed as he rubbed his sore bum.

"_The seal your friend made…" _Hanatarou froze and looked at the mirror in alarm. "W-what about the s-seal?!"

"_It's breaking," _It replied bluntly, _"so either have him make a stronger one or you're just gonna have to deal with me keeping you company." _

Hanatarou looked down. "Th-the seal is b-breaking, h-huh…"

"_But,"_ the reflection crouched down to meet Hanatarou's eyes. _"I feel like you're gonna need the rest of your chakra as well as mine soon, anyways." _It turned its head slightly as if it heard a sound.

"_It seems like that fukutaichou chick of yours uhh…"_

"Isane- fukutaichou…"

"_Yea, yea. She's healed you up but is also still worried about you. So …I think it'd be best if you wake up now." _

Hanatarou felt himself becoming drowsy, his vision blurring.

"_Be grateful,"_ he heard the low voice from the mirror. _"This is one of the good things of being a Jinchuuriki. If you didn't have me…well, you'd be dead…wait…or is it reincarnated…? Gah, something like that…" _The voice tuned out.

"Ah…th-thank you…" Hanatarou mumbled incoherently as he closed his eyes. 'Yeah…' he thought. 'This was one of the positive things…of being…a Jinchuuriki…'

**gnomgnomgnomgnomgnomgnomgnomgnomgnomgnomgnomgnom**

_ahahaha...how was that? please no...what are they called...flame reviews? flames?...or else i'll use Hanatarou as a shield mwahahaa..._

hmmm...should i do some **pairings**? there's several of yaoi pairings i've seen. i might do some if anyone request (but they're not gonna be serious! More like...light yaoi? is that what they're called?... i don't know how to make serious pairings in this type of story!) i've seen other pairings like **HAna/Hina, Hana/Isa, Hana/Rukia** and for yaoi i've seen **Hana/Ichi, Hana/Renji, Hana/Ganju **(cute i guess, but i dunno if i'm even gonna put Ganju in the story, srry Ganju folks!)** Hana/Bya, Hana/almost every guy lol... **


	2. Chpt 1 He's Awake!

OKAY! whooo first chapter up! like the summary says, there will be some **spoilers** for some Naruto chapters and Bleach. hmmm...I might put some **()** in **front of** the **spoilers in the upcoming chapters**, just to let people know which one's real and not. The XXXholic is waaaay too complicated for me to follow up on so those parts are not based on the mangas.

Hope you enjoy! please read and review..i guess?

Sorry if there's grammar mistakes. It can get really boring to check for mistakes ya know?

**gnomgnomLLAMA!!gnomgnomgnomgnomgnomgnomgnomngnom**

**Chpt 1- He's Awake!**

"Nnngh…"

"Yamada-nanaseki? Are you awake?"

Hanatarou's eyes focused to see his fukutaichou's worried face. Her dark eyes brightened as she saw him wake up. "Thank goodness! I thought your wound was fatal, the way that Rukia-san attacked you, but as I got to you it turned out it wasn't as bad as I thought."

"Isane-f-fukutaichou!" The boy quickly sat up and winced at the throbbing pain. He gingerly touched the wound on his chest only to feel sensitive flesh. "Be careful," Isane scolded, "I healed your wound and it seemed like it didn't need to be bandaged. It may leave a scar. But if you move too fast it may open!" He scratched the back of his head and nodded. "A-ah…sorry." He fixed his torn, bloody clothes as best as he could.

Then he remembered.

"Oh no! Rukia-san! Wha-what about Rukia-san?! And K-Kuchiki-taichou! I remember he was fighting an arrancar!" Isane nodded, "Yes, I've healed most of her wounds. You can help me with the rest. As for Kuchiki-taichou, he has defeated the arrancar."

Hanatarou turned to see the long-haired captain stand alone with his back turned and noted the blood stained on the man. 'As expected from a captain such as Kuchiki-taichou,' he thought silently in awe. 'Well, he doesn't seem to be hurt…I guess.'

"Yamada-nanaseki?" He turned away from the silent man to see his vice-captain crouching down by Rukia's body, her hands emitting a green glow. His feet scrambled up and he trotted to her side. The small shinigami looked down and frowned at how the strong, young Kuchiki he looked up to could turn out like this. He shook his head from those unnecessary thoughts. Closing his eyes, he put his hands above a nasty gash, and focused his kido to his hand, emitting the same glow. Slowly, the wound under his palms closed up until they were barely visible. The two fourth squad members went about repeating the slow process of healing the rest of the wounds.

Hanatarou looked up to see worry worm into his vice-captain's eyes. "Is there something w-wrong?" he whispered.

"Hm?" Isane's head snapped up from her concentration. "O-oh, it's nothing. Nothing, Yamada-nanaseki."

She swiftly glanced at Byakuya to check if he was within ear-reach. Confident that he wasn't, she beckoned him to bring his head closer and whispered. "I'm just slightly worried about Rukia-san's wounds. She's taken a nasty beating…But I think it would be best if we don't mention this to Kuchiki-taichou. No doubt he would worry, and there is already enough on his mind."

Hanatarou nodded in agreement and went back to healing. Out of the corner of his eyes he sneaked a peek at the still standing captain. He wondered if he heard them. It didn't matter if they whispered; that didn't stop a captain from overhearing bits of conversations.

His suspicions were confirmed when he saw the man's posture just barely stiffen and a slight change in the emotionless mask: dark gray eyes slightly narrowed, the forehead just faintly creased with worry, the jaws clenched, and the lips turned down to a tiny frown.

'Ah, he must have heard us!' Hanatarou thought softly. 'And he's worried.' He looked down at the raven-haired girl. 'Please, please wake up soon, Rukia-san!'

**_In another world…_**

"Well, Sasuke's been excused from his execution thank goodness, even though he did try to destroy Konoha. He is to be guarded and watched by at least one ANBU on duty. The other kids that were tagging along with him were also excused and split to their own journeys. Sasuke is probably going to be forever indebted to the Hokage for saving his ass. "

A tall man of twenty-nine years stood alone in a clearing of the woods in front of a memorial grave stone. He was a ninja, a jounin, with gravity-defying gray…white?…silver?…bah, he never really gave a damn anyways, hair. It was very early in the morning, most people would still be asleep. The sky was still dark, fog rolled about, and dew covered the grass. A gloved hand rose to fix headband that went over the man's left eye. The single, lazy right eye looked down at a small orange book with a warning sign that was sticking out of his vest pocket.

"Nghuhuhu" a perverted giggle slipped out, muffled by the dark mask that covered the bottom half of his face. He tapped the book to the memorial stone. "Sensei, you're missing out on some good stuff here. Jiraiya-sama's new Icha Icha series! The story's one of the best I've read so far." He sighed wistfully, "I can picture just how Obito and Rin would react. Obito, bet you'd be jealous, and Rin, you'd be horrified."

The stone stood silent.

"Ah yea, about the kids. Sasuke's still so quiet but I think he's eased up more these past years. His mind seems more at peace now with his brother. Naruto still loves ramen; and I think he's starting to get full control of the Kyuubi." the lazy black eye twinkled proudly. "Your son is getting stronger everyday, Sensei. He, as well as everyone else, have become fine jounin. Sakura's becoming an amazing medic-nin, a second Tsunade…literally. Sasuke, next to Naruto, is becoming one of the strongest. "

He paused.

"I think everyone's forgiven Sasuke. Although some of the villagers and the elders are still grim with him. We've all missed him, especially Naruto and Sakura. Team 7 wasn't the same without him. Oh, that reminds me of Sai. He's getting better with his emotions. Although, he still makes mistakes in nicknames."

Birds began to chirp, snapping the man out of his rambles. He looked to the east and was greeted by the sun peaking out with its bright arms.

"Ah!" he fisted his hair, eye widened comically. "Shit, I forgot that I promised to meet the four of them at the Hokage Mountain to watch the sunrise! Aw man, I'm two hours late!"

He spun around to for one last look at the large, dark stone. His fingers gently touched each name of his past comrades and loved ones on the cold surface.

"Otousan…

…Sensei...

…Sandaime…

…Obito…

…Rin…

…Asuma…"

On and on he went, briefly touching each chiseled letter and saying the names. Finally, his fingers touched dirt. They hastily swiped the dirt away to reveal the final name.

"…Hanatarou…"

The man stepped back and formed a seal. "Mah," he said, "it seems I have to go now. Ja ne." And with a 'Poof!' Hatake Kakashi, the legendary Copy-nin of Konoha, disappeared in a smoke.

**_Aaaannnd in another world…_**

"Hitsuzen…

….destiny…

...the inevitable…"

Long, silk-like black hair strewn about as a lady clad in an exotic red kimono slowly sipped her sake from the white, flat saucer-like cup. Her ruby eyes gazed peacefully at the twinkling stars and the full moon as she took a deep breath of the night air.

"Some would say that fate is

…Strange…

…Forever changing…

…Random…

…Cruel…

…So sudden…

…There are times when questions are asked, such as…

…'Why must terrible things happen to such good people?'…"

"But," another sip, "that is just hitsuzen. A never-ending cycle of life and dreams interconnected."

"Like cable wires!" chirped a black manju. The lady chuckled, "Like cable wires, Mokona?" The small, round, black rabbit-like creature nodded. "Uh huh!" Mokona giggled and took a swig from the sake bottle. It's cheeks rosy from the alcohol and the jewel on its forehead glistened from the light of the moon. "Oh, fireflies!" it squeaked and jumped out to the yard to catch the glowing bugs. The mysterious lady giggled as she watched the creature hop about in vain and sighed,

"Ah, but there are also times when hitsuzen seems to be on your side. When everything seems to go just right, even if it is for just a moment."

The shoji door slid open to reveal a youth about fifteen years of age. He had on a white apron as well as a bandana to keep his messy black hair out the way. He set down a tray of snacks that were quickly attacked by a black manju. Mismatched blue and yellow eyes gave a look to the lady.

"Were you talking to yourself again, Yuuko-san?" he asked. Yuuko put a finger to her cheek and tilted her head in a sly manner. "Maaayybee. I'll tell you if you bring me some more sake." She wiggled the sake bottle to indicate its emptiness.

"You," growled the 'servant'. "I think you're drunk enough as it is!" An accusing finger pointed at her red cheeks. Twin girls popped out of nowhere. "Drunk!" giggled the girl with long blue pigtails . "Drunk!" giggled the short pink-haired girl. They held each others hands and spun around, landed next to the woma, and gave her affectionate hugs. "Eeh?! Don't tell me you agree with April 1st, Maru, Moro?!" The girls giggled as the woman gave an exaggerated hurtful look.

"Don't call me April 1st!" screeched Watanuki.

"Maa, maa just one more, Watanuki-kun!" begged Yuuko. "Yea, April 1st, just one more!" squeaked Mokona. One of Watanuki's eyes twitched , he never could refuse his "boss" when she begged. "Fine," he growled and turned to stomp away.

"Oh, and Watanuki?" Yuuko called. "What else do you want from me?!" screamed the boy, he started to scratch furiously at his head, messing up his bandana. "Stack up on some more sake and food. Guests are to arrive soon."

The boy froze. "Guests? Who are they? When?"

"Oh," a mysterious smile formed on Yuuko's face. "A client I haven't seen in a while. Perhaps some new faces. I don't know when they are to come."

"Ooookay?" Watanuki nodded hesitantly and turned to be on his way for the sake.

Red eyes slightly narrowed at the feel of an ominous presence. "And there seems to be something dangerous coming. **You should be careful or else someone important could get hurt**."

Watanuki stopped and turned back to where Yuuko was. Did he hear that right or was that just his imagination? 'Ah whatever,' he thought, 'better get that sake!'

**gnomgnomgnomgnomgnomgnomgnomgnomgnomgnonmLLAMA!gnomgnomgnomgnonmgnom**

whoo...how was that? eheheh. today was...shocking. I've told almost everyone so I'll tell ya guys for fun. Today, mom took me out to a church parking lot for driving practice. ookay i was actually doing better than yesterday. but i kept going near the curbs even after she tells me to be careful. Then she says, "You're doing pretty well. I'll be quiet and let you have full control. do what you want." Well i did and I'm getting all confident when **BAM! **I hit the curb! CRAP! i thought, but it couldn't be that bad...it was just the curb! Mom checks the car and says, "a tire is ripped." That...was just...WHOA for me haha. I was actually trying not to laugh or smile (i dunno why it just seemed funny to me) because this was my MOM's CAR! so sis calls her friend and he comes and changed the tire for us.

Well, at least i learned two new things today. One- more about driving(and how curbs are evil) and Two- the basic concept of changing the tires.

I think I'm getting the hang of uploading chapters...aannddd

That's...my ramble of the day. PLease Review!


	3. Chpt 2 Can You Hear Me?

OKAY!! 2nd chapter. whoooo...dude...Naruto and Bleach are gettin more complicated! read new chapter and was like "AAUUGHHH!! now i'm confused how to make my story now! You know what?! Screw this, i'm not gonna follow the stories!!" hahaha yea...well most of the part has **spoilers** but i'm too lazy to indicate where. I had to manipulate some parts to fit the current scene so blah. Hmmmm I don't know what I'm gonna do for the bad guy...I guess Orochimaru? i mean, he's the biggest baddie of Naruto so far.

anyways, hope ya enjoy!!

**MWAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAHAHAH**

**Chpt 2- Can You Hear Me…?**

Rukia stirred awake, tired violet eyes opened to faces of the two Fourth Squad members.

"Thank god…" Isane sighed. "You've finally come to!"

"Kotetsu-fukutaichou…Hanatarou?!" She was laying on a small blanket and a makeshift pillow supported her head. She pushed herself to sit up with one arm, the other clutched tightly to her aching body. "Where…when…why…how…?"

Hanatarou was standing nervouly, wondering what to do, while Isane tried settle the stubborn girl back down.

"Calm down…and remain still…" Isane said in an authorities tone. "I'm still in the process of treating your wounds…"

Rukia's eyes settled on the captain, still staring out in open space. "Byakuya…nii-sama!" she stuttered, shock evident in her face and voice. Byakuya didn't turn to face her.

"Lower your voice…" he said calmly. "Kotetsu- fukutaichou was crystal clear in her instructions to you…Try and remain motionless until she's tended to your injuries…"

Eyes widened at the torn white fabric with the Sixth Division symbol laying uselessly beside him.

"Nii-sama…your haori…"

"It is of no concern to you…" he answered quietly.

Blood was flowing down his left arm.

"Your arm…" Rukia's voice trembled. "It's bleeding…" 'Oops!' Hanatarou began to sweat. 'I didn't notice he was wounded like that!'

"Again…" he glanced back. "Do not concern yourself over such trivial matters…Now is not the time to lose your composure… You should be focused on renewing your strength…" His eyes looked back at the empty lands, as if he sensed something far away. "What awaits us down the road… will test every fiber of our being…"

Rukia continued to stare at the back of her brother. Isane looked back and forth between the two siblings. There was an awkward silence.

"U-um…" Hanatarou stuttered. "How about I-I go and take care of Kuchiki-taichou's wounds?"

"Yes," Isane agreed, glad that the silence was broken, "please go and heal his wounds while I finish up with Rukia-san."

Rukia nodded in agreement, "Thank you." Then, her sharp eyes noticed the slash on Hanatarou's shihakusho. "Hanatarou…were you injured too?" Everyone froze.

"Eh?" He looked. "A-ah! This…um…y-yes…I guess you could say that…"

Her eyes narrowed. "Did…did I do that?" she asked slowly. "It's vague…I was unconscious… but I remember something felt… like someone invaded my mind…" Her fists clenched and her teeth gritted, frustrated that she was taken over easily enough to hurt a friend.

She bowed as low as she could from her position. Isane jumped at the sudden motion and fussed, saying how she could open wounds. And Byakuya turned to watch the spectacle.

"I'm sorry!" She whispered, her voice shaky. "I'm so sorry!"

Hanatarou blinked in shock then frantically waved his arms out, shaking his head. "W-wait!" He panicked at the sudden mood change. 'Oh no! Now she's blaming herself!'

"Please, get up R-Rukia-san! It wasn't your fault!" It didn't work.

He looked at Isane and Byakuya. His fuku-taichou too surprised to help while the captain frowned at Rukia's distress. 'Eep! If Rukia-san is troubled, Kuchiki-taichou might get mad at me!'

He crouched down by Rukia and tentatively touched her shoulder. "P-please don't blame yourself Rukia-san…It's fine-"

"It's not fine!" Rukia cried in shock, her eyes faintly shining with unshed tears. "How can you say that it is fine? I hurt you, no, that wound could have killed you!"

"_Kekeke, got that one right." _a husky voice chirped.

'Hush!' Hanatarou thought. 'What are you doing up anyways?'

"_The__…dramatic cries of distress woke me up. Now shut her up will you? I want to go back to sleep."_

'Go get some earplugs then, or something! Quit talking like that about Rukia-san.'

A cackle. _"Ahahahaha…alright, fine. Whatever."_

Hanatarou shook his head and focused on the present situation. He smiled reassuringly "But…but I'm not d-dead am I?" He spread his arms out wide to prove his point. "See? I'm fine and alive Rukia-san. Please lie back down and let Kotetsu- fukutaichou take care of you. I'll take care of Kuchiki-taichou."

Rukia calmed down, still shocked at how Hanatarou could brush off an incident like that so easily, even when he got wounded. "Alright…" she gave in and slowly laid back down. Isane went back to healing her patient while Hanatarou went to his own.

"Ano…K-Kuchiki-taichou?" he asked as he reached the silent captain, the man always made Hanatarou nervous with that silence. "Please sit down and show me your wounds."

Byakuya looked at the small boy and kneeled down. 'Even when he sits down all bloody he's still got that noble aura around him…' Hanatarou sweat-dropped. He focused his hands onto the wounds, fidgeting as he felt the cool eyes stare at him like a watchful hawk.

"Yamada-nanaseki…"

Hanatarou jumped and glanced up, his hands still working. "Y-yes?" He didn't expect the captain to say anything to him.

Byakuya's eyes seemed to analyze him. "You…forgive people easily…do you not?"

Hanatarou got confused then looked down. "I-I…I guess? But…" His eyes narrowed as he shuffled through his memories. "N-not…everyone…"

The man stared curiously at the young boy beside him. He's strange, he thought, like that Kurosaki boy. Then he gave a barely visible smile.

"Thank you," he said.

The seventh seat fumbled and looked up, shocked. 'Did I hear that right? Or was that just my imagination?' "E-excuse me?"

"Thank you," Byakuya repeated. "For not blaming Rukia." Hanatarou took a while to comprehend, too focused on that tiny smile on the quiet man's face. 'Whoa! He's actually smiling!' He blushed, not used to being thanked, and grinned. He scratched the back of his head. "N-no! No need to thank me. I just didn't like how R-Rukia-san was blaming herself… over that…"

He healed the last wound on Byakuya's arm. "There! Finished!" The captain stood up, slowly moving his arms. "Th-there weren't any…serious wounds so I was able to heal them faster than I thought." Byakuya nodded his thanks.

Isane was also finished with healing Rukia's wounds. "But I don't think you should fight yet," she instructed, "not until you've had a good rest. Although, because of the current situation I don't think you'll get a good rest until we get back to Soul Society." "Ah," Rukia nodded. "Thank you."

Byakuya walked over, followed by Hanatarou. "Are you alright now, Rukia?" he asked in a soft voice. "Y-yes, nii-sama! I'm fine!" she stuttered an answer. Just then, a huge shadow floated overhead. A large, one-eyed, pale green manta ray landed on the ground letting down two passengers.

"Ah, Unohana-taichou! Chad!" Rukia smiled, glad to see that the Mexican was fine. He nodded. "Rukia-san."

A soft-faced woman with her long black hair braided out in front also came down. "Return, Minazuki." the one-eyed ray let out a low groan, turned to mist, flowed into the sheath by the woman's side, and turned back into a sword.

"Unohana-taichou!" Isane and Hanatarou bowed to their captain. She smiled gently. "Isane-fukutaichou…" she acknowledged, then turned to the boy next to the vice captain. "And Hanatarou-nanaseki. I am glad that you are alright." She turned to the Sixth Division captain. "Kuchiki-taichou…" Byakuya gave a short nod.

"Well, now that we're here," she smiled. "I think it would be best to meet up with the others--" Unohana cut short, she felt a static-like shock in her head. Everyone froze and looked about, feeling the same shock.

"…**.Can you hear me?…My dear invaders…"**

"…This voice…"Rukia muttered. She didn't need to say anymore, everyone immediately recognized the voice of the traitor, Aizen.

"It's Tentei-kuura…" said Isane.

"**For your continued success against my espada… allow me to express my deepest respect."**

"**As of now….we are commencing our invasion of the human world…"**

Everyone stood silent, shocked except for the two captains.

"**Inoue Orihime, I am leaving in the fifth tower. If you wish to retrieve her, you may come and make your attempt.**

**I no longer have…any use for her."**

"What?!" gasped Chad. They all listened as Aizen told more details of his plan: kidnapping Orihime to create a disturbance, turning attention of the defence system away from the human world and onto Soul Society, luring the "ryoka" and others to Hueco Mundo.

"**Furthermore, four of Soul Society's captains…were sent to Hueco Mundo as reinforcements… and as such I have succeeded…**

…**In **_**imprisoning**_** them, as well."**

There were echoes, like metal doors closing shut, as the shinigamis felt the portals connecting this world to their world close. Isane quickly hit the ground with the palm of her hand, the sand rippled from the wave of energy. She focused, trying to feel the energies of the portals. "…!!…The four Garganta that we used to reach Hueco Mundo…" her voice shook, "…have all…been sealed off!"

'Oh no…' thought Hanatarou, "with three of Soul Society's captains deserted and four imprisoned…that means that Soul Society's military force is pretty much cut in half!'

Aizen went on, **"We shall proceed to erase Karakura Town…generate the oaken…and finally, defeat Soul Society. As for you…Once this is over, we'll deal with you at our leisure. "**

With that, Aizen's voice faded.

"What do we do now?!" Rukia asked.

"Urahara-san was given the task to create a path for the captains to Hueco Mundo, and to make sure that every Gotei 13 captain would be ready for battle in Karakura Town…" replied Byakuya.

"That is too rash…!" Rukia sputtered. Chad sweated nervously. "Battle in Karakura Town?! …With the power of the Gotei 13 captains, what will happen to the town battling there…? It will totally be destroyed and then void to exist!"

Byakuya's voice remained calm. "Like what I've said, the commander's order is to ensure the captains "are ready to battle.""

Unohana looked at Chad, nervousness still evident on his face. "The town will be alright." Everyone turned to look at her. "We are going to use Tenkai-kezzu. It will transfer Karakura Town into a place for battlefield. The Shinigami Research Institute was also ordered to create a perfect mold of the town in the far border area of Rukongai. Karakura Town will be completely transferred to the far far border area of Rukongai."

"The civilians…what happen them…?" asked Chad.

"We put them to sleep, and then moved them together with the town. So currently, in Karakura Town, it is just an empty assembled town. Therefore, even with the damages caused by the power of the captains, it would not be any troubles."

Chad relaxed, relieved to hear that the townspeople would be alright.

"So…so…" attention fixed to Hanatarou, who was momentarily forgotten. "Are we going to meet up with I-Ichigo-san and others now?" Everyone nodded in agreement.

"I think it would be best if we ride on Minazuki," Unohana suggested, "With Rukia-san still coping with her injuries, and it would just be better for everyone to go together." She unsheathed her sword, which let out a bright green glow and turned back into the moss-colored ray. Everyone climbed on its back; Hanatarou having a bit of trouble before the ray decided to help him up with one of its fins.

"So to the fifth tower?" Isane looked at her captain.

"Yes," Unohana confirmed, then gently gave a small pat to the ray's smooth skin. "Minazuki, please take us to the fifth tower."

Everyone held on as the giant ray gave a small whine and lifted off, gracefully skimming through the air above the white sands.

**MWAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAAHHAHAHAHAH!**

okay! there! whooo...yea, that part where Hana's healing Byakuya was your smidgen of Hana/Byakuya moment. Horrible wasn't it? anywayys here's something I thought of...

**my messed up mind:**

"Bakudou #77:..."said Tousen as two tiny devices created symbols on his arm. "Tentei-Kuura."

_SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECCCHHH!!_

A piercing screech throughout the white sands of Hueco Mundo.

"AAUUGH!!" Everyone covered their ears at the ear-deafening sound. "What the hell was that?!" Ichigo shouted.

**"ICHIMARU! STOP SCRATCHING THE SYMBOLS!!"** ..."Tousen?" Ichigo was confused.

**"Kukukuku..." **Gin.

**"...Gin...stop it, please."** Aizen.

**"Aw, but it's sho fun! ...**

...**Aight, aight! I'll stop! No need ta get aggressive, Tousen, you're so mean!"** the screeching stopped.

...there was silence...

**"Ahem...can you hear me now?"** "YEEESSS!!" everyone shouted.

**"GOOOOD! So anyways, my dear invaders..."**

...yea...wtf? right? hahaha i watched that commercial with that dude who's always like "Can you hear me now? GOOD!" and i saw his glasses...and his hair...and i thought..."Aizen..." haha

anyways **Reviews** please! Suggestions would be good too like. How to make the past of Hanatarou even worse(cause i already thought of a pretty bad one) and like...what mishaps should befall our lil shinigami! mwahahaha...oh man, this is hard haha


	4. Chpt 3 Karakura Town

Okay, haha yea. this took a while to do. I don't think I'm much of a fight scene person and i'm getting lazy.(oh no!) So hard to do. meh...uuhh...

yea, well. for **spoiler alerts**...im just gonna leave it to you guys to read the manga, too lazy to indicate which, what, and where. aaannyways, i hope this was okay.

**fightfightifhgitfightfightfightifightfightifighitfighihifhighithighihfig**

Chpt 3-

**Karakura Town…**

Homes, apartments, schools, and stores. Not one was safe from the battle that was taking place overhead. The empty town was slowly falling apart, building by building. Shinigami and espada fought each other with equal ferocity, their attacks creating massive waves of energy.

Soi Fon and her fukutaichou, Marechiyo, fought Halibel and her Fraccions: Apache, Mila Rose, and Sun-Sun. Soi Fon took the leader while Marechiyo took the rest of the three. She was breathing heavily as blood flowed out from a gash on her head, blinding one eye. Halibel silently clutched her abdomen to keep the blood in, black symbols of butterflies adorning her body. The espada knew that if the butterflies were touched once more by the shinigami, it was all over.

"Halibel-sama!" the Fraccion's cried out and rushed to help. "Oh no you don't!" Marechiyo blocked the way, the enormous spiked ball and chain in his hands spinning rapidly. "Get out of the way, you overgrown oaf!" screeched Apache. The tomboy fraccion ducked from the spiked ball and delivered a powerful kick to his stomach. Sun-Sun and Mila Rose joined by shooting ceros. Marechiyo was overwhelmed, fell onto a nearby food store, and was knocked unconscious.

"Marechiyo!" Soi Fon cried out. 'That useless idiot!' she thought. Seeing an incoming attack from the corner of her eyes, she brought her arms out in a defensive block against the tan-skinned Espada. She retaliated with a quick attack of the gold stinger on her middle finger. The hand barely hit one of the cursed symbols, landing an inch away to form another.

Ukitake faced Barragan, breathing heavily. He had been able to take care of the four Fraccions, the old espada not once coming to help his subordinates. His body easily became fatigued from his sickness, the wounds he got not helping. Suddenly, he covered his mouth as his chest heaved, his throat irritated by the thick liquid that was coming up. The long haired man coughed harshly into his hand, red liquid spattered his palm. "Damn it, not now of all times," he whispered hoarsely. A snort caught his attention. "Hmph," Barragan scoffed. "It seems I have gotten a sickly young goat." This…wrinkly old espada was mocking him! 'Oh, that's it,' Ukitake thought. 'I'll show him what this goat can do!' He coughed some more. 'But… I better finish this up quickly before I get worse.' He steadied himself up and took out his zanpakuto to release it.

Shunsui was busy with Lilinette, Stark's Fraccion. He lazily parried her quick jabs and kicks. "Maa…" he drawled. "I don't really like to fight against such a young girl like you…" "Grr, come at me seriously, old man! Your almost like Stark-sama!" Lilinette retorted. Stark, standing on one side with his hands in his pockets, sluggishly looked up as he heard his name, "Hm?…You say something, Lilinette?" "Arrgh!" she growled. Shunsui would have laughed if it wasn't for the situation. He didn't like fighting, especially young girls, but he had no choice.

He saw Ukitake releasing his zanpakuto. "It seems Shiro-chan is getting serious…" Shunsui frowned when his friend started to cough. "But his body's reaching a limit." Another swift attack from the Fraccion brought his attention back to the battle. He dodged, disappearing then reappearing from behind. "Sorry," he said to the shocked girl, "but I gotta go help Shiro-chan, so I'll end this quickly." He brought his blade down. Lilinette could only stare as the sharp steel came down on her. She waited for the pain but it never came, she opened her eyes to face Stark's back. "Stark-sama!" Shunsui's eyes narrowed. This espada was fast, he could barely see him when he came to block the blow. The pony-tailed captain jumped out of reach for precaution. "Or…maybe this won't end as fast as I thought…"

Komamura already released his bankai, the metal giant copying his every moves. He was causing probably the most damage of all with the savage swings from the huge sword. Tousen expertly dodged and parried with such ease no one would have known he was visually handicapped. Iba, the vice-captain, dodged a bala from a strange, small espada. Wonderweiss decided to tag along, and seeing Tousen fighting, he decided to join in the fun. The child-like boy curiously watched with wide eyes as the shinigami dodged his attack. He giggled and cooed, his attention distracted for a moment by a dragonfly that was passing by. Iba took his chance to attack but was stunned when his sword met empty air. "Hahaha! Haha…!" He looked behind him and saw the blond-haired espada laughing, the dragonfly in his hands. "Guuu….uwaaahh…waahh…" Wonderweiss gurgled and raised a finger to point at Iba. A cero formed and narrowly missed. Iba sighed. This…was going to take a while.

"Tousen!" roared Komamura. "I'll break your limbs and rip you to bloody shreds if I must to bring you back!" The blind man simply said, "That…is what you said last time…" The canine charged through the air with the giant behind him. The two had their swords locked against each other, sparks flying out. Komamura growled, "Are you truly that blind to the chaos and pain you have caused?! Is this the justice you have been talking about?!" They pushed against each other and their swords were released. Tousen jumped a few feet away. They were both cut up, Komamura more than himself. "Aizen-sama knows of a way to bring in justice and peace. I will help him achieve his goal and will not tolerate anyone who stands in the way…" he replied calmly. "…not even you." "Tousen!!" Komamura howled and charged once more at the traitor.

The leader of Gotei 13, Yamamoto, and Chojiro stood against Aizen. Neither one moved an inch since the war started. As they faced each other two-against-one the devastation around them disappeared, the spotlight focusing on them. Chojiro stood silently by the old man, whose eyes squinted pensively at their enemy. Aizen, the mastermind of chaos, stared down with cold eyes at the….ants that were in his way. "It is a pity that you have become like this Aizen…" sighed Yamamoto, looking more tired than ever. "How such a bright soul of Gotei 13 could turn dark with evil." Aizen gave an emotionless smile. "Oh…? What ever made you think that I…" He took out his zanpakuto and daintily smoothed a finger on the edge of the blade, "…Was ever "of Gotei 13"?" The other two watched, alert for any attack. Yamamoto nodded to Chojiro, who unsheathed his weapon. "Pierce, Gonryoumaru!" the lieutenant muttered and the weapon in hand transformed into a rapier. In a flash, a flurry of thrusts, slashes, and cuts rained down on the slick haired man. Aizen expertly blocked each and every one with a smirk on his face. Chojiro knew Aizen could take him out any minute and was careful to watch for anything suspicious. Yamamoto watched the fight gravely, knowing that his lieutenant had a higher chance of losing. 'But,' he thought. 'we must not let him win, no matter what!' He would wait until the last minute to release Ryujin Jakka, until then, he trusted Chojiro to hold his own.

Histugaya never really liked Ichimaru. That was what was running through his mind as he barely dodged the flurry of blades. That stupid smile always irritated the young captain to no end. Gin had to pause his attacks to side-step Matsumoto's Haineko. The smile faltered as he glanced at the ample bodied shinigami. The ash flowed back to its owner, surrounding her like a protective fog. "So mean, Ran-chan!" He pouted. "Attackin' from behind." Hitsugaya grew wary as he watched the two. He knew they were childhood friends and was uncertain whether his lieutenant was ready for this battle. Would she break down in the middle of the war from the emotional trauma of betrayal? No, he shook his head, Matsumoto was stronger than that…he hoped.

"Why, Gin?….Why did it turn out like this?" Matsumoto asked quietly, all the pain and confusion pent up began to rise. Gin just tilted his head innocently and smiled amusingly. "Answer me," she shouted and swung the hilt of her zanpakuto, "Gin!" The gray fog burst from its master's fury and flew in rage at the pale-haired man. Hitsugaya took that as a cue to release his bankai. "Daiguren, Hyourinmaru!" The sky grew dark and fierce winds blew as ice wings covered his back and a dragon curled around him. He jumped and aimed at Ichimaru's back. The dragon of ice gave a fierce roar as it flew to the man, jaw wide and fangs bared. Gin looked behind to see the dragon; he blocked against the swarm of ash with his sword then gave a sharp turn to swing the gray mass at the dragon. Gray and ice-blue collided in fierce waves. "Hyuu..!" whistled Gin. "That almost got me!" Matsumoto gave a cry and swung again only to be dodged. Histugaya snapped at her, "Matsumoto, control yourself! Letting your emotions get the better of you is wasting energy!" Matsumoto panted then gave a deep breath, calming herself. "I'm sorry, Taichou…" They heard a chuckle. "Yo' shouldn't be the one talkin', taichou-han! I remember how you was fussin' all over Hinamori's blood." "Gin…" growled Histugaya. "You…!"

Then there was an ear-splitting scream, "Sun-sun!"

Everyone paused. That wasn't a scream you'd hear in a battle like this; it wasn't a scream of defeat, pain, or any of the likes. It was a scream filled with shock and fear. The scream was from Mila Rose, her eyes wide and skin deathly pale. Halibel quickly turned to see what was wrong, Mila Rose wasn't the type to get scared so easily. She gasped as she saw her Fraccion, Sun-sun, impaled through the shoulder by a clawed hand. It was the owner of the hand that shocked everyone even more.

'A hollow?!' Halibel thought. 'Impossible! A normal Hollow shouldn't be able to land a blow on a Fraccion so easily!'

The Hollow's body was smaller than the usual Hollows, about the same height as a normal human. It also had humanoid features: the usual hole in the chest, blood dripped off of a clawed hand, a mane of messy hair behind the mask, and thin dark garments clothed the monster. A disturbing smile stretched the skull-like mask. It gaped its mouth wide to take a bite out of the Fraccion. Sun-sun opened her mouth at the monster, a cero shot out and knocked the Hollow away from her. Mila Rose and Apache helped her up and tried to stop the bleeding shoulder.

"Well this is new, a Hollow that wears clothes and able to stand against all the spiritual pressures of the captains and espadas…" Shunsui whistled. "Hmm…did Aizen create it to distract us?" He glanced at the two arrancars next to him. Lilinette was like an open book, her eyes wide with confusion and mouth gaped wide like a fish. "What the hell?! Neh, Stark-sama, what's a Hollow like that doing here?" she shouted. Stark just stood silent, his face unchanging except for the slight widening of the eyes. Shunsui took that as a sign that the Espada was as lost as he was.

The Hollow stood motionless for a while, slowly looking at the shinigamis and espadas. Then, it tilted its head back and let out a howl. Everyone stood silent, the fighting forgotten, and waited in silence. After a few minutes, the monster's call was answered by a chorus of screeches. A group of hollows, similar to the first, emerged from different places. "It was calling up a pack?!" Soi Fon was shocked, hollows tended to roam about in solitude and never worked in groups, their greed made it impossible to "share" a meal with one another.

The first hollow, seemingly the leader, seemed to nod. The group of hollows dispersed and surrounded the shinigamis and espadas equally; three hollows per group. Without warning they attacked with different styles: some had formed white kunais and shurikens from the palm of their hands and expertly shot them, one had a ninjato sprout out of its back, and others used strange forms of kido to attack. Shinigami and espada fought side by side against the hollows, but also taking a swipe at each other every now and then when they got the chance.

"Aizen, what is the meaning of this?!" Yamamoto shouted. He burned away all the hollows that dared to attack him. Aizen ignored him, a small frown on his lips. This was not in his plans. A hollow charged at him with a dagger and lunged. Aizen merely swapped it away like a fly and the monster disintegrated. The other hollows left Chojiro, Yamamoto, and Aizen alone, knowing full well that they didn't stand a chance. "Hmph…" Aizen sniffed as he watched the fights, disappointed with the ruin of his plan. "It seems we will have to retreat for now."

He cleared his voice. "Everyone," All the espadas stood alert as their leader's voice boomed. "Fall back."

"What?!" The espadas and shinigamis stared in surprise. Aizen retreating? "Aizen-sama, what is going on?" Tousen appeared followed by, Wonderweiss, to Aizen's side. "Why are we retreating?" The leader smiled. "Merely a disturbance in the plan. We shall retreat and observe these new specimens. Soul Society can clean them up by themselves." Aizen, Tousen, and Wonderweiss turned back to the Garganta. Yamamoto tensed, 'The enemies must not escape! But….' He watched as the rest of the captains were busy with the hollows. Chojiro made a move to stop Aizen but was stopped by a hand. He turned to see his captain with his zanpakuto turned back to its usual staff. "Sir, they are-!"

"Leave them." Chojiro didn't know how to react. "Leave them…The war shall be postponed but Karakura Town shall remain in Soul Society… But right now, we have a new problem to take care of."

The shinigamis watched anxiously as the enemies slowly took off after their leader. Halibel silently passed Soi Fon, who was struggling with three hollows, as she helped her Fraccions carry the bleeding Sun-sun. "Muu, Stark-sama, you jerk! You didn't even do anything!" Lilinette hit Stark on the head. Barragan just floated away, not even sparing a glance at Ukitake, who was coughing and fighting hollows. Komamura took his anger out at the hollows as the blind man escaped from his grasp yet again.

Matsumoto breathed heavily. Blood matted her hair in clumps and dried on her clothes. The hollow she was facing was in worst state, both arms cut off and bleeding. It growled, its serpent-like tail swishing to-and-fro as it circled the shinigami. It lunged at Matsumoto with teeth bared. Haineko swirled around it before it reached her, cutting it up into pieces. Before it was completely destroyed, the tail whipped out and caught her off guard. "Oomph!" She flew into a building and was knocked out.

"Matsumoto!" Hitsugaya shouted. He dodged a kunai and tried to shunpo to his lieutenant but was hindered with two of the strange hollows. They worked simultaneously to keep him away from her. A third hollow appeared in front of the unconscious blonde with a sword. "Matsumoto! Matsumoto!" The boy shouted out of the top of his lungs as he froze one of the hollows. He slashed the other one and shunpoed his way to the woman. The sword was raised, ready to come down. The boy went as fast as he could but he knew he was too far away to make it in time. "Damn it! No!" Just two more steps and he'd be right by her! "Matsumoto!" The sword fell to its unsuspecting prey. "Matsumoto!!"

"….Ikorose, Shinsou…!"

A blade extended and stabbed the hollow through the head, disintegrating it before it could harm a hair on the blonde's head. "Silly Hollow, they ain't yours for the killin'." The metal seemed to slithered back to its original form. Gin gave a short swing in the air to get the blood off of Shinsou , then sheathed it. Hitsugaya quickly came in between him and the blonde with sword in hand. "What are you playing at, Gin….?" he hissed. "Ara, ara, no thanks fo' the savin'?" tsked the fox-face. Gin turned to go back to Aizen but paused when he heard a groan. "Unngh!" Matsumoto's eyebrows were knit with pain, a trickle of blood flowed down her head. Her body was bruised and battered from the impact. "Ya know, instead of hissin' and spittin' with that sword o' yours…I'd get a healer fo' that head. Looks nasty." he said almost mockingly. Hitsugaya paused, then sighed. Although he hated to admit it, he had no choice but to agree with Gin. "Go away, then," he said in a low voice. "Go back to where you came from, filthy traitors!" Gin just gave a wry smile, turned back, and shunpoed away to Aizen's side at the Garganta.

The enemies disappeared behind the darkness of the dimensional tear. The Garganta closed off, leaving no trace of the enemies behind. The remaining numbers of hollows hesitantly backed away after seeing their comrades destroyed. All that was left for the shinigamis were the results of their battles: craters in roads and sidewalks, dust clouded the air, pretty much half of the town was already destroyed.

Histugaya pressed against the bridge of his nose at the thought of the delayed war and the new problem that arose. He gently lifted Matsumoto up bridle style, even though she was pretty much twice as tall, with ease. He was stressed, aching, and confused. Confused on the sudden attack of the new hollows, who were more unique than the average hollows.

Then…there was that other source of his confusion and disturbance: that man…Ichimaru Gin. Why was it… that fox-like grin of his….it looked almost sad… 'Bah,' Histugaya shook his head and shunpoed to Urahara's shop where the captains were meeting, 'I'm just tired…Need to get Matsumoto to a healer quickly…"

**fightifghfightfighfightifhgitifhgitifhgihtihight**

yea...this chapter was kinda long haha. maybe boring, i dunno. sorry if there's mistakes and a lot of reuse of words, it's too troublesome to check it all ya know?! **Reviews please! **and you know what...flames are cool too i guess, i'm probably gonna ignore them eheheheh. but they can be helpful! sooooo yea.

oohh yea. oookay, unless i have like...at least...enough **votes**. it might **take a while to make a certain chapter**.

there's a surprise for a certain character but i have some candidates:

**Histugaya**

**Yachiru**

**Matsumoto**

**Kenpachi**

**Ururu**

...bah, i guess i'll just add **Ichigo**, too

choose your favorites and they get a surprise. and i guess you could say some times with Hanatarou ahahaha. **Pleeeaaaase vote! **...you know what...i don't care if you vote **more than once**! ...okay maybe i will if you go overboard but dude..come on


	5. Chpt 4 Now to Get Out of Here

OH MY GAWD! FINALLY!! hahaha, yuussss I have finished teh fourth one! uuugghhh it's getting harder to type this story. I dun even know who to make the villian! OH! _**COME ON PEOPLEE!! pleeassse vote someone in the last chapter! if noone will vote then i'm just gonna email a friend and ask her to pick a random character.**_ anyways, please enjoy! (though it may be a bit confusing) HAH! I now know how to make this awesome line that separates parts of the story! how do ya like that!

* * *

** Chpt 4- Now to Get Out of Here…**

The flight to the fifth tower was in silence. The green ray skimmed over the white sands and monotone buildings of Las Noches. But even with the tense silence, Hanatarou couldn't help but feel giddy. This was the first time he had ever been on his captain's Minazuki, and he hadn't seen much action ever since the "ryoka invasion". 'I wonder how Ichigo-san is doing…' he thought. "There it is!" Rukia interrupted his thoughts. "The fifth tower!" Everyone looked to see the object of their destination. Half of the tower was crumbled away; slash marks and dust clouds gave away the hints of battle. Through the dust they saw five figures: Kenpachi with Yachiru hanging off of his back, Orihime was healing a heavily injured Ichigo, then there was a small child no one knew.

"Minazuki, please take us down there," Unohana ordered. The ray gently swooped down and landed in front of the five. "Ichigo!" Rukia and Chad gasped as they saw their injured, bloody friend. The orange-haired boy smile weakly and raised a hand from behind the Soten Kisshun. "Yo." His smile widened when he saw that Chad was alive and alright. "Kurosaki-kun, please be still until you are healed," Orihime requested, fatigue was evident in her eyes. A hand laid on her shoulder and she gave a start, turning to face the Fourth Squad vice-captain. "Orihime-san," Isane said, "you rest for a while. I will take it from here." The girl smiled, nodded, and scooted away.

"So, what happened?" Rukia asked. "Ulquiorra…Had to…take him out…" Ichigo winced as Isane bandaged the last of his wounds. "…It's over though… Now all we have to do is…get out of here…" Chad spoke up, "If we're finished here…we should go back to the meeting place…"

"Meeting place…?" Unohana asked. "Oh, Renji and Uryuu!" Rukia remembered. "We all promised to meet back at the entrance!" "Well, I am pretty much finished up with Kurosaki-san," Isane piped up. "So all we have to do now is fly to your meeting place."

Everyone agreed, but Byakuya remained silent. "Nii-sama? Is there something wrong?" Rukia asked. The Kuchiki gazed at ruins and muttered, "There were five of you…A child…Where is it?"

"Nell!" Ichigo exclaimed. "Uh…um…er…she's…" He began to sweat. Nell was an arrancar, a former espada, no less! He worried what one of the strictest captain of Gotei 13 would do when he found out. "She's…she's…!"

"Right here!"

Ichigo paled as the pink-haired lieutenant gave a giggle, dragging out the nervous arrancar from behind the rubbles. "Skull-head's right here!" Nell's wide eyes shifted back and forth from the kind, motherly face of Unohana to the emotionless, piercing gaze of Byakuya. She squealed, clearly able to sense a dark aura around the latter.

"What…is it?" Byakuya's eyes narrowed as saw the unmistakable mask on her head. "This…child…is an arrancar?" Unohana couldn't help but also frown at how this small child could be an enemy. The man began to slowly unsheathe his sword. "If she is, then I have no choice but to kill it." Nel, feeling the killer aura, began to foam at the mouth and her eyes rolled back as she fainted.

"O-oi, Byakuya!" Ichigo struggled to sit up and waved his arms about wildly. "Bastard, wait!"

"N-nii-sama, stop!" Rukia pulled on his arm to stop him from fully unsheathing his sword. He glanced at her. "Let go of my arm, Rukia…" "No, you can't hurt her! She hasn't done us any harm! In fact, she helped us get into Las Noches!" Nel groaned as she woke up to the yelling. She opened her eyes right when the scary man freed his arm from Rukia. He slowly made his way over to her, ignoring the cries of dismay from Ichigo, Chad, and Rukia. She shrieked and looked around, then deemed that the small shinigami standing by would make a good shield.

Hanatarou didn't have a chance to think before he saw a green blur head for him. He struggled to maintain his balance when he felt a sharp tug from the back with a trembling voice shouting, "Hiii! D-don't kill me! I…uhh…I got…a…a…a hothtage!" Hanatarou couldn't help but pity the arrancar who was shaking like a leaf. She was just kid, even though a possible arrancar! He gulped when Byakuya simply turned with sword in hand towards him. 'N-no way!' he thought. 'He wouldn't hurt me, too, would he?!…But then again, looking back at that time at the ryoka invasion…'

Then, Kenpachi came and stood in front of him. "Z-Zaraki-taichou!" Hanatarou gasped as he felt the heavy aura of the captain. "Heh, quit your gasping, you little weakling."

"_Haaahhh?! Who're you callin' weak?! Oi, Hanatarou, quit your gasping and let me out!" _Hanatarou winced as he felt the mirror in his subconscious crack. _"I'll rip you apart! Skin you! Tear you to shreds! Eat your intestines! I'll make friggin' wine out of your blood!…"_ Hanatarou blocked the rest of the threats in his mind and paid attention to what was happening in the real world.

"To think that the great Kuchiki would go as low as to kill a brat," Kenpachi sneered. The two captains stood face-to-face: Byakuya glaring up while Kenpachi looked down with a feral smile. The noble sighed and sheathed his sword. "Hmph, there's no point in this." Then he declared, "I will have nothing to do with that child. Whatever happens, I will expect you to take responsibility for her, Kurosaki."

Nel Tu jumped when she felt a nudge. "You can let go now," the boy she was clutching to said softly. She hesitated. "What's your name?" her "hostage" asked. "N-Nel Tu…" she mumbled. "Nel-chan, I'm Yamada Hanatarou." She tried to repeat the boys name but settled for a shorter version. "Ha…na….Hana…" He nodded. "Don't worry, no one is going to hurt you." She slowly let go of the shinigami and dashed off to tackle Ichigo. "Itsyugo!! I was tho thcared!" she blubbered.

Ichigo tried to peel her off before his clothes were drenched in snot and tears, "Er…yea. Sorry about that, Nel, Byakuya can be sort of a bastard."

"Ichigo! Don't talk like that about Nii-sama!"

"Oi, oi…" Kenpachi lazily let his zanpakuto rest across his shoulders, "if everything's all good to go, lets get out of here. There's no arrancars- that kid doesn't count- and I'm getting bored."

With that, Minazuki was boarded once again: Orihime tiredly climbed aboard with Rukia, Ichigo had to be helped on by Chad as to not reopen his wounds, Byakuya tried to pick a spot with as much solitude as he could gain, Nell flung herself onto Ichigo's lap away from Byakuya's glare, Yachiru tried to converse with the green-haired but failed when Kenpachi's intimidating figure came into view, Hanatarou climbed on last with a helpful nudge from the green ray.

Minazuki let out a louder groan than usual as it felt more weight added onto its back. Rukia pointed out the promised area and soon, everyone saw the others. Renji and Ishida were waving up to them while Nemu stood beside Mayuri.

"Ah," Renji noticed, "Taichou?! What are you doing here?" Byakuya just coolly gazed at him.

"Nell-sama!!" Dondojack and Pesche gave a bear hug as she hopped off. "Aw, I mithed you guyth!" They cried like a fountain in unison.

"Well, well, what is this…?" A shadow loomed over the three. Nel turned to see a creepy smile on a clown-like face. "A child who is an arrancar? What would I find if I were to experiment…," Mayuri thought out loud. "No!" Yachiru jumped on the captain's face. "I like Skull-head so you can't have her!" The captain let out a sniff but decided to back down when he saw Zaraki give him a look, "Che! Fine."

Ishida gave a small smile of relief, "Everyone's here…"

"But what do we do now?" Renji interjected. "We're stuck here and there's no way out!" Unohana frowned. If the war has started, then there would be wounded shinigamis, and she was uncomfortable at the thought of not being there to help.

"Hmph, troublesome," Mayuri scoffed. "Why don't you quit your yapping and start thinking of a way?" Renji turned, "What! Don't tell me what to do you crazy clown!"

"Guys!" Ichigo tried to stop the two but ended up joining the argument along with Ishida.

"You're the "scientist" here, aren't you?!"

"At least I have some mentality."

"What did you say!"

"Guys!"

Rukia palmed her face and growled with fustration, "Boys…" Chad and Byakuya were the only "boys" who stayed silent and calm. Unohana and Isane watched as the "three desert brothers" entertained themselves by playing with a small hollow creature. Orihime smiled as she took in the scene, she was so happy now to be with her friends again!

"Pardon my interruption of this…quarrel…" The guys stopped to see the noble Kuchiki come in-between them. His eyes were closed but they could see an eye start to twitch. "But it would be best if we could think of a way to get out of here as soon as possible." With that, he turned and walked away, ending the fight.

"Ahahaha!" Zaraki let out a booming laugh and shouted after the captain. "As expected from someone with noble blood, stopping a fight without lifting a finger!" Byakuya glared back at him and said, "Quiet, ingrate."

"Ah, so that's where you get all your insults from," Ichigo commented and received a slap from Rukia.

"So…how are we going to get out of here?" Isane wondered. Silence ensued as the severity of their situation settled in.

"We can't make another garganta?" Ichigo asked.

"Already asked that," Ishida replied. "It seems that only Urahara knows how to create them and we have no means of contact with him."

"Nell!" the substitute shinigami's light bulb flickered on. "Can't you and your brothers make a garganta with one of your…hollow…arrancar power thingies?" Everyone looked toward the three with a flicker of hope. Nell tilted her head to the side with an innocent smile and said, "Whath that?"

Gloom settled in. After several minutes of brainstorming, things were starting to look dim.

Hanatarou fidgeted. 'This is a problem!' he thought. 'What if more hollows or arrancars come! We need something to transport back to Soul Society, or at least back to the human world…Something…anything…" A chuckle broke his thought.

"_Kekekeke…You're in a pickle there aren't ya'? If you're so desperate why don't we create our own way of getting out?"_

'Wait… "We" make our own…?"

"_Aho! Don't tell me you forgot! Has all these years of our powers being sealed affected your brain?! Don't tell me all these times with no action made you dull to the head…"_

Then it dawned on him. His eyes became wide and his mouth gaped open. No one noticed this of course. 'Can we use it? Do you think we can? It was only supposed to be used for emergencies-"

"_Fool, this is an emergency!"_

'But…do you think it's possible? We're talking about going to a whole different dimension here! And it takes up a lot of chakra…and most of it is sealed remember?…Even if we can, what if we get stuck while going through!'

"_You didn't think twice when we used it last time so why now? Besides, why don't you ask them and see what they think."_

"Ano…" The group turned to the boy. "What is it Hanatarou?" his captain asked. He took a deep breath. "Well…um…I think…I think I have a way…"

"Speak up! We can't hear you, Hana!" Yachiru piped up.

"I was saying…I think I…have a way to get us out of here…"

Everyone stared. Before anyone could ask he squeaked, "B-but I'm not sure if it will work! If something goes wrong it would be horrible!"

"Well, it's better than nothing!" Kenpachi roared.

"So, what's the plan?" Ichigo asked.

Hanatarou looked at everyone with such intensity and seriousness that was unusual to the cherubic face. "Is everyone sure? If things go wrong, the worst thing would be that we would be gone forever or taken somewhere completely different!"

Mayuri became curious, "Are you saying another different dimension…?"

"Well, it's something," Rukia said. "Better than nothing."

He looked at everyone and nodded. "Um, could someone find me something that would give off a large shadow?"

"There's a lot of rubble. Will that do?" Ichigo asked. He nodded

Everyone searched, confused but didn't question. "Oh, oh! Hey, little guy, what about this!" Hanatarou walked over to where Pesche, Dondojack, and Nell was. They found an upright piece of the rubble that was bigger than enough to fit everyone in. "Perfect!" Hanatarou grinned. "Thank you!" He waved for everyone to gather.

"So, what are we going to have to do?" Ishida asked.

Hanatarou stepped into the large shadow until he was in the darkest shade. "I am going to need everyone to step into the shadow, please." Everyone did just that. They wondered where he was going with this, the boy who was known to be the most bullied shinigami. "Um, now could everyone hold hands, or at least have some contact with each other?" Now it was getting a bit silly, they thought, but did as told. Hanatarou held the nearest hand, which was Nell's, then it was Ichigo, Orihime, Rukia, Byakuya, Renji, Ishida, Chad, Isane, Kenpachi with Yachiru hanging off his shoulders, Unohana, Nemu, and Mayuri. "Please, whatever you do, don't let go!"

"What are you going to do?" Isane asked.

"I…If I have enough…energy…I think I can make a portal to get us out."

Everyone stared again. Hanatarou…the quiet, meek child…getting them out of here?

"Che, how are you going to do that?" Zaraki asked. "Enough energy my ass."

Hanatarou flinched when he felt his bijuu roar, giving him a slight headache. He gave a nervous grin. "As I said…I'm not sure if it will work."

"Just get on with it," Byakuya interrupted. "We are wasting time."

He nodded but noticed something wrong. "Um…you two, if you could please get in." Nell finally noticed and cried, "Hurry up and get in!" Pesche and Dondojack stood outside of the large shadow silently.

"Hey, what are you guys waiting for?" Ichigo narrowed his eyes.

Pesche scratched the back of his head and seemed to give a sad smile behind his mask, "Well, you see…um…We don't think we should go."

"What?!" Ichigo, Renji, Ishida, and Rukia shouted.

"Wha-wha…Pesche…Dondojack?" Nell's was confused. "Why aren't you guyth coming in?" She began to struggle against the two hands that tightened their grips on her own.

"Well, yes, we're probably deemed traitors for helping you guys," Pesche thought out loud.

"Aizen-sama probably knows already!" Dondojack sweated.

"But it's enough trouble taking Nell-sama with you. Besides, even if Nell-sama is spared, I don't think we'd be much welcomed." He pointed to the full mask on his face. They gave a low bow. "Please, we beg of you! Please, take care of Nell-sama!"

"P-Pethche! Dondojack!" Nell began to cry and struggled against Hanatarou's and Ichigo's hands. "Let go! Let go of me! I want to be with my brotherth! If they don't go, then I don't want go either!"

Ichigo's eyes saddened but his grip stayed strong. "Yeah, I promise we'll take care of her. Thank you for all you've done."

"Ichigo!" Rukia stopped when she felt a gentle squeeze on her hand. "Nii-sama?"

"This is their choice, let them be. We can't wait for them to change their minds."

Hanatarou looked at the two. "A-are you sure?"

"Yeah, yeah, don't worry yourself kiddo!" Pesche waved him away. "Even if we're chased, we'll give them a chase they can never forget!" He referred to the "Never-ending Tag."

Hanatarou nodded and sadly looked down at the wailing child. 'You ready?'

"_Anytime. But this is going to be a challenge, with seal and all. You're gonna get really tired if this is a success. We'll be using up our chakra to the brink. Brace yourself."_

The rest of the group watched through the shadow as Hanatarou seemed to concentrate with hand in the air as if to grasp something.

"What is he doing?" Isane whispered. Unohana watched curiously.

Seconds ticked by, each seemed like an hour. Nothing. Nell stopped crying and sniffled in confusion. Pesche and Dondojack wondered if they did their dramatic goodbye for nothing. The group started to get restless.

"Hanatarou," Ichigo whispered uneasily. He didn't want to hurt the kid, who always seemed eager to help in any way, by telling him that nothing was working.

"Neh, Ken-chan," Yachiru pouted . "What's taking so long? I don't think it's working." Ichigo sweat dropped at the innocent bluntness of the girl and hoped Hanatarou wasn't hurt.

Hanatarou didn't hear anything though. Instead, he was focused on the shadow taking in the coolness and depth of the darkness. He focused as much chakra as he could into the shadow, warping it and swirling it. The shadow seemed to consume his chakra greedily and he felt it take shape similar to what the humans called "a wormhole." His eyes snapped open when he felt something similar to a door click open in his reverie.

"We did it," he breathed.

Everyone gasped as the shadow they were in began to move and wrap around them like tentacles. They began to struggle. "Hanatarou, what the hell is happening?" Ichigo writhed. Pesche and Dondojack panicked as they saw tentacles lick at a struggling Nell.

"Everyone, please calm down and relax!" Hanatarou shouted. "Please don't struggle, it's all part of the plan."

Everyone stopped struggling but tensed as the black tentacles crawled up and wrapped around them. The dark tendrils were as cold as a steel blade. Poor Nell gasped and shivered with fear. Black flames seemed to surround them, trapping them in the shdaow. Rukia stared at the back of Hanatarou. This cold, dark power, whatever it was, she never expected out of the shy teen.

Hanatarou closed his eyes and concentrated once again. The first part, creating an opening, was done. Now for the hard part. His hand twitched forward, in his mind he tried to connect a sort of tunnel from where they were now to…somewhere. The first place that popped into his mind wasn't Soul Society but… the Urahara Shop? 'Strange,' he thought. 'Maybe because of his gargantas?' He felt his chakra seep out of his hand in a thread-like shape into the tunnel. The trouble with this jutsu was connecting the two places together; one place to another in the same dimension was hard, but connecting together two dimensions was even worse! He stretched the thread of chakra through the darkness, it getting consumed bit by bit by the greedy shadows. 'Just…a little more!'

His eyes opened. 'There!'

"Everyone, hold on!"

"Ah…Hanatarou, how many times have you done this before?" Ichigo asked.

"O-once," he gulped. Before anyone could say "What?!", the tendrils tightened their hold and dragged their victims down to darkness.

* * *

"Ah! They're gone!"

* * *

If asked what it felt like, the closest thing Kurosaki Ichigo could compare it with would be: unexpectedly falling straight into a frozen lake…except you can breathe in the water. He gasped when he felt the icy cold rush through him, almost painfully.

The girls screamed and the boys shouted out curses as they felt themselves sucked into the watery, dark vortex.

"Everyone, please hold on tight!" they heard Hanatarou shout.

Nell screamed her head off, "Aaah! We're going to die, we're going to die, we're going to dieeee! I didn't even want to come with you guyth! It'th all your faulth!" Big, fat tears flew out.

Yachiru and Kenpachi were the only ones who were crazy enough to be laughing in a situation like this. The pink-haired lieutenant was barely clinging on to the captain's back as she giggled with glee.

Hanatarou's free hand gripped onto the invisible force that was pulling them through. 'I forgot how cold it was here,' he shivered. He gritted his teeth as he felt the line of chakra grow thin. The pressure around him slowly grew heavier like submerging deeper underwater. 'Crap!…Crap, crap, crap, not now!' Then hope came when he saw the tiny light at the other end of the darkness. He gave a final burst of chakra, increasing the suction that was pulling them in. Ichigo startled when he felt a strange power pulse from the leader of the line and felt the suction grow stronger. "Hanatarou?" Then, he noticed the light at the end. "We're almost there!" he shouted to everyone. "Hold on!"

The light was a huge hole in the fabric of darkness. The trail of humans, shinigamis, and arrancar flew forward. The brightness was intense, eyes had to be shut. Hanatarou felt his stomach drop when he felt his chakra weaken to a thin, translucent thread.

'No!' he screamed in his mind along with his bijuu. 'Just a few more seconds!….Just…!' They were almost there. His body grew fatigued and he felt tempted to close his eyes and let go of the hand he held onto. '…A few more…!'

* * *

Meanwhile, Urahara was host to the captains. They were all out in front of the shop with some of the 4th squad medics from Soul Society healing the wounds. The fake town was empty and broken, the only building in tact was the shop. The day was ending as the sun set, the skies tinged with warm colors. "So, let me get this straight, it was all going through schedule until you were interrupted by hollows? Then Aizen just left?" He gave a dry smiled and fanned himself. "…Damn. That sucks. Totally unexpected."

"They weren't just any hollows," Hitsugaya glared at the man's laid-back behavior. He glanced at the shop, Matsumoto was in one of the rooms being healed. "They were able to wound an arrancar with such speed. They had strange weapons and techniques we haven't seen before, and worked together in groups it was almost…"

"Humanlike?" Yoruichi put in. She was in her human form and jumped off a fence next to the owner of the shop.

"Yoruichi!" he shut his fan cheerfully. "You're back from your stroll!"

_"I watched it all," she said. "And it's true. They're not your average hollows. In fact, their movements surprisingly reminded me of the Stealth Force."_

_ "__Are you saying there may be some connection to them and the Stealth Force, Yoruichi-sama?" Soi Fon asked incredulously, faintly bothered by the thought._

_ "__No, no," Yoruichi shook her head. "As of now, we have no clue what they are or where they came from. I'm just comparing them…"_

_ "__Hmm…" Urahara ignored the two as he thought on what Yoruichi said. "…Humanlike, huh…?" His interest piqued._

_"__And then there's the garganta problem," Shunsui pointed out. _

_ "__Are you sure you can't get them back open?" Ukitake asked anxiously. "The others don't know that Aizen is returning to Las Noches!"_

_ Urahara sighed and shook his head, "I can't get them to open. Aizen sealed them up tight and I can't figure out how to get them open again."_

_ "__Then all we can do now," Yamamoto said. "is hope that they figure a way out…"_

_ The captains all sat silent. Doubt was in the air and hope was dwindling like quicksand, as every seconds passed at the thought of only four captains and some humans going against Aizen and his army. When the medics healed everyone, they packed up and quietly left. Ururu and Jinta passed them and tiptoed, as not to interrupt the intense atmosphere, to give everyone some soothing tea. _

_ "__Hitsugaya-taichou," the medic that was taking care of Matsumoto came by. The white-haired boy left to speak to her privately._

_ "__How is she?" _

_ "__She is just fine now. I have healed her wounds and all she needs now is some rest," she smiled reassuringly. _

_ "__Thank you," he sighed with relief. As the medic left, he rubbed his temples feeling another headache coming. He walked back to the captains._

_ "__How is she?" Komamura asked._

_ "__Fine. Just needs some rest."_

_ The furry head nodded, "That is good to hear."_

_ The group of captains were once again silent, sipping their tea and letting the cool night air embrace them. _

_ "__So…what now?" Urahara asked. _

_ They looked at their leader expectantly. Yamamoto thought for a while, then said, "We shall go back to Soul Society. Karakura Town and its citizens shall stay and be guarded within… We shall wait and watch for anything suspicious. It would be best to keep an eye on these new hollows and see where they are coming from. Do you think you will be able to take care if trouble comes up, Urahara?" The striped-hat bobbed along with the head of its owner. "Of course! They can't be that hard to handle!" With that the meeting was adjourned. A large shoji door opened with a bright light and the captains went in, one by one, accompanied by Hell butterflies._

_ Ukitake looked back to see the young prodigy not taking a step. "Hitsugaya-taichou?"_

_ The boy shook his head and said, "I am going to stay here for a while and wait for Matsumoto to wake up."_

_ Ukitake nodded with understanding._

_ "__Hey, Shiro-chan, hurry up!" Shunsui called out. "I want to get some sake and see my Nanao-chan!"_

_ The shoji door slid closed as the two left and the door faded as if it was never there. Hitsugaya went into the shop and opened the door to face Urahara and Yoruichi._

_ "__Ara! Hitsugaya-taichou? You're not going?" Urahara asked._

_ "__I'm staying until my lieutenant wakes up."_

_ "__Aw, now ain't that sweet?" the man received an annoyed glare._

_ It had been a few hours since the meeting. Tessai was making dinner with the children while Urahara was busy with who knows what. Hisugaya sat outside on the roof, watching the stars come out as the skies grew darker. There was a soft thump as a black cat jumped onto the roof and walk over._

_ "__Dinner will be ready soon." she said as it took a seat next to him._

_ "__All right."_

_ She brought her hind leg up to scratch behind the ears. "So, how long until she wakes?" she asked casually._

_ "__Few days."_

_ "__I see."_

_ An awkward silence hung in the air. Hitsugaya went back to brooding while Yoruichi scratched her ears. Then, there was a loud slam of a shoji door with Tessai yelling, "Tenchou!! Tenchou!!"_

_ Tessai stood outside waiting with the two wide-eyed children. Urahara quickly made his way over, "What is it?"_

_ "__Th-there's something strange outside," Ururu replied in a feeble voice. _

_ "__Yeah! There's a weird shadow in the alley next to us ," Jinta shouted._

_ "__A hollow?" Hitsugaya asked as he and Yoruichi jumped down._

_ "__No," Tessai answered. "The energy seems different."_

_ "__Well," Urahara smiled and ushered everyone out. "Why don't we go check it out!"_

_ Yoruichi gave a suspicious look, "What if it's something dangerous?"_

_ "__Well, then we'll just have to beat it up!"_

_ They ran to the alley and skidded to a stop._

_ "__What the hell?" Urahara exhaled._

_ "__See!" Jinta cried. "It's weird!"_

_ In the alley, a large shadow on the wall swirled and twisted itself, emitting a hum of energy. "It looks like some portal," Hitsugaya said. Urahara slowly walked to near the portal, curiosity evident in his eyes. "Careful, Kisuke," Yoruichi warned. He observed the large shadow, dark wispy flames licked at his cane as he prodded the edges of it. "What do we do?" Tessai asked._

_ "__Well, dinner will have to wait for a while until we figure out what this is," Urahara answered._

_ "…__Eh…?"_

_ "__What is it, tenchou?"_

_ "__You hear that?" he put a hand up to his ear and leaned toward the portal. Yoruichi's ears twitched, "It sounds…like screaming?"_

_ "…__We're almost there!…Hold on!"_

_ "__Kurosaki-kun?" Urahara thought then smiled._

_ "__What is it, Urahara?" Hitsugaya asked when he saw the shop-keeper's face suddenly light up._

_ The smiling man straightened back up and stood back, giving room. He opened his arms wide, with fan out open, and shouted, "Everyone! I give you, our heroes!"_

_ "………" __Crickets began to chirp._

_ "…__Oi, Urahara," the little captain growled, "what are you playing-"_

_ "__Uaahhhhh!!" Everyone stared as the portal vomited up one-by-one: Hanatarou, a child, Ichigo, Orihime, Rukia, Byakuya, Renji, Ishida, Chad, Isane, Kenpachi, Yachiru, Unohana, Nemu, and Mayuri. They landed in a heap into the small alleyway, moaning and groaning. _

_ Hitsugaya blinked, taking a while to digest the sudden appearances, "W-what the hell!"_

_ The group all stood up and surveyed their background. _

_ "__Geta Boushi!" Ichigo cried out when he saw the smiling Urahara._

_ "__No way…," Renji gasped. "He did it!"_

_ Hitsugaya marched over and said, "Wha…How… I demand to know what happened!" Then he saw Nell, "What the hell is an arrancar doing here!" Byakuya, Kenpachi and Yachiru, Unohana and Mayuri walked away with the confused captain and began to explain the events in Las Noches._

_ "__They're alive!" Jinta and Ururu cheered and Tessai blew into a tissue with teary eyes._

_ "__How did you all get out?" Yoruichi asked._

_ "__Yes, yes! That's what I'd also like to know!" Urahara chimed._

_ Ichigo grinned and said, "Actually, it was Hanatarou that got us out!" He looked around and saw the boy getting up. "Hey, Hanata--!" He stopped when the little fourth squad member began to sway forward. "Hanatarou!" The captains turned to see everyone else crowd around the fallen fourth squad member. Unohana made her way over and checked him over. "What's wrong with him?" Ichigo asked. "He has fainted." She became worried when he felt for his reiatsu. "Whatever he did consumed his energy. If we were in their any longer, he wouldn't have been able to keep it up. Give him some rest and he should be fine." They all sighed with relief._

"Well, then, why don't we come into my shop!" Urahara offered. "Dinner's almost done and I bet everyone's a bit hungry." Orihime's stomach rumbled and she blushed. "We'll heal you up then we can exchange information." Everyone made their way into the shop. Hanatarou was carried in carefully and placed in a room next to the unconscious lieutenant. For now, everyone was just glad to be back, out of Las Noches.

* * *

yaayy. done! there may be some mistakes but okay. Please** review! maybe some suggestions or flames or just something. **yea, so I guess Hanatarou can just control his Bijuu's power like Gaara's sand (you know, not really using any handseals to make it move or anythin? just makes it easier). okay...once again...pleaaase vote for SOMEONE you like: (there's some changes)

**Ichigo**

**Histugaya**

**Yachiru**

**Kenpachi**

**Ururu**

**Rukia**

**Nell**

**_just submit a review with the character's name, that's all. i dunno how to make those vote things_**

ohhhh my gawd...dude...why do they not let me do TAB?! i want some space before each paragraph starts! noooo hahaha, aw well...

anyone see** the Happening? **it was so horrible. i mean, the story was cool but the suicides and deaths were bad for me. I was covering my eyes pretty much the whole time, but I peeked cause I was curious what was happening! haha. aahhh i wanna see some other movie...and **Gintama** has so many episodes where they're _not subbed_! WTF?! and i'm waiting with my sister for the new episodes of **Avatar:last airbender.** gaaaaah! but i need to do the permit test and **read my summer books**! i'm not even halfway done with either of them! reading **Don Quixote** and the **Once and Future King. **okay gonna stop rambling...


	6. Chpt 5 Back

Uwaahhh! sorry, peops if this chapter is kinda...blargh. but hey, I just want to get them out and over with and get the story moving along. anyways, finished Band Camp and I...still...haven't made it to the middle of my summer books! AAARRGHH I admit defeat! i'm just gon go to Sparknotes! yea! Well, so far the leading characters on my mini "vote" thing is **Ichigo **and **Kenpachi**. voting is still open until...perhaps one..two more chapters? haha well on to the story!

* * *

**Chpt 5- Back  
**

_It was early in the morning, fog shrouding the ground like a gentle blanket. The air was cool as rain drizzled from the sky. A woman emerged into a small clearing carrying a small child in her arms. A long gray scarf was loosely wrapped around her neck and covered her head like a hood. She was a cautious deer, checking for any signs of danger with her sharp eyes. The child in her arms was wrapped in a warm bundle, his head uncovered as he enjoyed the light shower. His eyes fluttered, the rhythm of the rain softly beating on his head tempting him to sleep, but stubbornly stayed open to take in the unknown area around them. They waited for a while until a man dressed in a dark cloak, the hood covering half of his face, came out to greet them. _

"_You came," a greedy grin formed on the stranger's lips._

_The woman pulled down the scarf to uncover her head, revealing cold gray-blue eyes. "Let's get this over with," she snapped._

_The boy looked back and forth between the two as they exchanged their conversation in harsh whispers. He let out a yawn and rested his head at the crook of the lady's neck, wondering why he was woken from his slumber at such an early hour. He froze when he felt a chill down his spine and looked up against the drizzle to see cold, malicious eyes stare back at him._

"_So we have deal then?" the man asked, his eyes never leaving the boy._

_The woman tightened her grip on the child then lowered him down. His feet touched the earth, softened by the falling water, waking him from his daze. Her hands on his shoulders slowly turned him around to face the suspicious figure. A triumphant smile lit up on the man's face as he held his hand out. The boy stared at the man's pale, outstretched hands then turned his head back with confused eyes, silently asking the lady what to do. The hands on his shoulders gently pushed him forward, causing him to stumble and instinctively grab a hold of the hand in front of him._

_The pale fingers clamped tight in a vice grip and pulled him towards the man. With a harsh whisper, "You…will be coming with me now…" The hooded man began to walk in the opposite direction, tugging the dazed boy with him. Before the fog consumed him, the boy turned his head to look back at the woman behind him. Confused, innocent eyes searched for answers as he was dragged away. He blinked sleepily, fear creeping up as the woman slowly became more and more obscured by the rain and fog._

"…_Okaasan…?"_

* * *

Hanatarou winced as his eyes gradually opened, adjusting to the light that seeped into the room from the window. '..Ah…we did it,' he thought as he stared at the ceiling. The bijuu residing in him was silent. 'Probably sleeping, I bet.' He forced his tired body sit up and stretched. A yawn came out as he did so. "How long was I asleep?" he murmured. He stood up shakily, still not fully recovered from his chakra being drained, and slid the door open. He heard talking in the kitchen and went in. Ichigo, Orihime, Rukia, Renji, Ishida, Chad, Hitsugaya sat on the floor around a large, low table eating. When they saw him, the clatter of the bowls and chopsticks paused from shock. Only Urahara and Tessai seemed to have been expecting him. The black cat in-between the two was sleeping.

"Oh," he blinked and bowed. "Um…Good morning, everyone?"

Immediately, they surrounded him and bombarded questions at once.

"That was amazing by what you did two days ago!"

"What did you do?"

"How come you never showed that kind of power?"

"Now, now, everyone, give him some room to breath. You can ask questions a bit later," Urahara interrupted as he stood up and came by. He put a hand on Hanatarou's shoulder and set him down on a cushion on the floor by the table. "I'm sure he's also hungry."

Hanatarou picked the foods with his chopstick and put them in his mouth, chewing nervously as eyes stared at him. What is this, an interrogation? "Um…so I have been asleep for two days?"

"Ah," Hitsugaya affirmed. "Matsumoto hasn't woken up yet either."

"What happened to her?" he asked and flinched when the captain's icy gaze fell upon him. He observed the way the captain's aquamarine eyes gazed past him, as if remembering whatever happened. There was anger and…confusion in his eyes. 'Something bad must have happened,' he thought.

Hitsugaya replied in a low voice, "A… slight trauma to the head. She just needs some rest."

"M-maybe I can look at her and see if there is anything I can do to help," he suggested in hopes to lift up the captain's spirit a bit.

"…Thank you," Histugaya nodded and turned back to finishing his lunch.

The meek shinigami resumed eating some more but paused when he saw some people missing. "Where is Taichou and Fukutaichou? Kuchiki-taichou, Abarai-san, Kurotsutchi-taichou, and his fuku-taichou are also gone."

"They went back to Soul Society," Orhime started.

"Nii-sama, Renji, and the other captains are reporting back to the general about the events in Las Noches," Rukia finished, "and that we are all safe."

"Zaraki-taichou and Kusajishi-fukutaichou?" Hanatarou yelped when he felt a pinch on his arm. It was Yachiru with Kenpachi looming behind.

"Just call me Yachiru!" the girl pouted.

"..Ya..chiru..-san," he said slowly.

She smiled, "Yay!" and grabbed Nell's hands, dragging her away to find Jinta and Ururu to play with. "They should be sweeping out front!" Urahara hollered after them.

"Damn," Kenpachi tsked as he dropped into a chair. "Nothing. I can't find any of those hollows you talked about."

"Eh?" Hanatarou was confused. Everyone filled him in on the events that happened: the strange hollows, postponing of the war, etc. Before he could digest the information, Ichigo asked hesitantly, "Hey, Hanatarou…about that power…" Ishida sighed and said, "What Kurosaki is trying to say is: what was that power you used?"

"How come you never used it until now?" Orihime added.

Hanatarou ate a bit faster, stuffing his mouth to delay himself from answering. They waited for him to finish his meal, expectant eyes barely leaving their target.

Chad watched as he ate slowly. He remembered hearing talk of the boy, how he was weak and bullied. If he had such powers, couldn't he defend himself with it?

Though Hanatarou's trick worked on them, it didn't work on the grownups of the building. Tessai, Urahara, and Yoruichi barely caught the flicker of fear in time before the kid ducked his head.

"So…Hanatarou…" the Geta Boushi slowly started. "If you don't mind me asking, who…or should I say…what…are you?"

It became silent again as everyone stared strangely at the man. Hanatarou's chopsticks froze midway before the rice reached his mouth.

"Eh?" Ichigo mumbled with food still in his mouth. "What are you talking about? Hanatarou is Hanatarou."

"Who else would he be?" Rukia scoffed.

"I said 'what' not 'who,'" Urahara pointed out. "I became very curious when I was told how you 'magically created a portal,' and I would really like to know how you did it. I'm sure everyone else wants answers as well."

Hanatarou chewed his last bit of rice and swallowed before he lifted his head up with a sheepish smile, "I'm sorry but…I don't really know how to answer that question. I'm just a seventh seat medic." He turned to Hitsugaya and said, "If it's okay, maybe I can go check up on Matsumoto-san?" Hitsugaya nodded and began to lead the way. Hanatarou put down his chopsticks, "Thank you for the food." He looked at the others, "S-sorry, but could the questions be saved for later?" Then off he went, stumbling after the shorter boy.

"Hmph, I really wanted him to ask him some questions," Ishida pouted. The Quincy stood up to help clean the table with the other teens.

"Tenchou…" Tessai started.

"He is hiding something," Yoruichi mumbled as her golden eyes peeked open halfway.

"How was your nap?" Urahara asked.

The cat stretched her front paws as she yawned, "Good, good." She watched the teenagers talk and laugh as they cleaned up the dishes. "Kisuke," she glanced at the said man and said in a low voice, "something is strange about that brat. Something seems different about him than last time he came here ." Urahara's gaze was lingering at the retreating figure of the current topic. "I barely noticed it, too. I swear…I could feel a different…reiatsu?…mixed with his own." He shook his head and stood up with a goofy smile. "Well," he patted his pants, "we'll just have to wait until the time is right now don't we?"

* * *

Meanwhile in Las Noches…

The espadas were restless, fidgetting in their seats at the meeting table. The empty seats left them uneasy. "I can't believe even Ulquiorra was taken out," Stark scratched the back of his head. Halibel sipped her tea silently and Barragan sat frowning. Aizen had his chin propped against his hand as he stirred his tea pensively. His face was the utter portrayal of calmness: emotionless, no sign of panic or distress as if the escape of the captives in Las Noches didn't bother him one bit, the faint smile on his lips that rivaled the Mona Lisa's. Ichimaru and Tousen stood near the entrance. There was a projection in the middle of the table replaying the attack of the new hollows.

"So, what now?" Stark asked.

"The war is postponed until these new…disturbances are taken care of." Aizen replied.

"What are we going to do with them?"

"Nothing. Why do anything when we can just let Soul Society take care of them. We will simply observe these new species. Someone is definitely behind their sudden appearance. If we can get whoever it is on our side, perhaps these hollows will be useful additions to our family."

Halibel's grip on her tea tightened. One of her own fraccion was injured by them and for Aizen to suggest them to be a part of their "family"…! She sighed mentally. Even if she were to protest against the idea of letting those incontrollable savages in to Las Noches, it wasn't as if he'd give a damn. Aizen was the god in this world, his word is law. She remembered the last meeting when that fool Grimmjow acted out of line.

Soon the meeting ended. The espadas were given the orders to "use the postponing of the war to their advantage." To "think of it as a small vacation and time for any needed improvements." Also, "report anything that may be linked to the new hollows."

Aizen, Gin, and Ichimaru were the only ones left in the dark meeting room. The leader replayed the scene of the hollow attack again and again with interest.

"Aizen-sama…" Tousen said.

"What is it, Kaname?"

"It is about Ichimaru's uncalled behavior when he helped the enemy-"

"Again, again with suspicions," Gin pouted. "Ya should really learn to trust people, Tousen!"

"I am sure," Aizen interrupted before the two could clash, "that he had a good explanation. Isn't that right, Gin?"

The fox-face gave a sly smile and said, "O' course! I just couldn't let that mean ol' hollow take away my prey like that." He glanced at the blind man. "No one… touches, more o' less kill them,… except fo' me…! Well," Gin gave a large shrug. "That's it! Good enough isn't it, Sousuke?"

Aizen's lips twitched up to a faint smile and he nodded. "I'll overlook it this time, Gin…" The excused man grinned and put his hands together so that his sleeves fully covered them, and walked away whistling.

"Aizen-sama…" Tousen said.

"Don't worry, Kaname. Instead, why don't you help me look for more data on these new specimens?"

Tousen bowed, "Yes, Aizen-sama!" and disappeared.

Aizen sipped his tea in the dark. The screen in front of him created an eerie glow as he smiled. "This…will be interesting."

Hanatarou followed the ice-captain to the room that was in front of his. The door was pushed aside to reveal the unconscious vice captain. Her eyes were closed in peaceful sleep and her wavy hair gently framed her face. On the back of her head was a gauze, secured by bandages wrapped around her forehead. "Did you change them?" he asked and got a nod.

"Her wounds are all healed," Hitsugaya informed. "but the wound on her head is still healing. The medic said she just needs rest but…"

Hanatarou nodded; he wouldn't need his medic bag then. He leaned down, closed his eyes, and put glowing emerald hands up to the strawberry-blonde's head. They gently skimmed over the area of the injury.

"Well, the medic didn't overlook anything," he said. "It is healing just fine, but if you would like I can help it go faster."

"Do whatever you can."

Hanatarou went back to his patient's head. If he had Hisagomaru he could heal the gash in a snap but he didn't. 'Should I?' he thought. If he used his chakra he could probably have her well enough to regain consciousness by tomorrow. He glanced at the captain who stood near the doorway. 'If I let out too much Hitsugaya-taichou would surely notice.' Praying that the taichou wouldn't notice, he concentrated some chakra into his hands, lightly turning to a darker shade of emerald. He discreetly healed the wound through the gauze until he left it small enough to be healed in one night.

"U-um…" he sweated.

"Is something wrong?" Histugaya straightened up with ready alert.

"Oh! No, no, she's fine. I was just about to say that I w-was finished."

"Oh," Hitsugaya relaxed. With a curt nod and, "Thank you," he left. Hanatarou's shoulders sagged with relief. After he fixed the blanket on the female vice-captain, he also left, unaware of gleaming eyes watching him through the window.

Bright gleaming eyes watched its target until he was out of sight. "Found him!" Its chakra was lowered to where whoever noticed would have thought it to be a harmless bird in a tree. "It's still daylight," it grumbled. "Che, I'll just come back later." With that the small figure slinked away and disappeared into the shadows of the leaves.

* * *

Yay, done! please **Read and review!** srry if this is a dull ; but oh well! lol. the next chapters may take longer to upload cause of school starting so just sit tight!


	7. Chpt 6 Four Hollows?

uwaahh...okay...this chapter ain't much either. The story is going so sloowww...uughhh. well, perhaps I should **draw some character that will be in this story? **Like the way i keep picturing Hanatarou's Bijuu..Hisagomaru-as a gourd flower (maybe i should make her a fairy too?). **some OCs** that are going to be some of Hanatarou's friends and be in the story alot? hmm hmm.

okay well, yea. as i said, i'm gonna be takin a pretty long time for each chapter. eheheh. **Oh, well i guess the voting thingy is done now haha**. and **winner is pretty much_ Kenpachi._ **hmmm this may be hard to do the surprise...but i'll try to make it. Oh yea just a bit of** FYI**(is this how you use FYIs?)...kukuku...**i never did say that the surprise was going to be good now did I? bweehehehehehehhhh demon face **

**Read and Review pweeaasee!!**

* * *

**Chpt 6- Four Hollows?**

Just as the seventh seat medic said, Matsumoto--

"She's waking up!" Orihime came out the strawberry-blonde's room with a large smile. Everyone scrambled into the room as the lieutenant's blue eyes stirred open. Her blurred vision cleared to familiar faces. "Wha…?" she stopped when she saw a familiar orange-haired girl. "Orihime!" she gasped and shot up from her futon. She hissed and clutched the back of her head with pain.

"Please, be careful," Hanatarou said as he went to her side.

"What happened? What…How…?" she grabbed Orihime into a tight hug. "Aizen closed the garganta! How did you all get out?"

"They say it was Yamada," Hitsugaya answered from the doorway, his arms crossed as he leaned on the frame.

"Taichou!" Matsumoto gasped.

"How are you feeling?"

"Just a headache."

Matsumoto looked down at the 4th squad member kneeled by her side, shuffling around his medic bag. "So he was the one who got you all out?"

"Ah," Ichigo affirmed with a nod.

"How?"

"That's what we'd all like to know," Ishida pushed his glasses up.

"H-here," Hanatarou brought his hand out to reveal a small pill, "this should get rid of the headache." Everyone mentally groaned. By now they all noticed how he would duck and dodge questions like they were killer ceros.

Matsumoto accepted the pill and swallowed it dry. "What happened when I was unconscious?" she asked then snapped her fingers. "The war started…then those hollows…What happened to Aizen? Did you get rid of the attacking hollow, Taichou?"

Hitsugaya frowned. "About that… everyone…could you leave us alone for a while?"

Sounds of disapproval, whines, and complaints filled the room.

"I said, could you all leave?" Hitsugaya growled. The room in the temperature dropped to emphasize his annoyance.

They all wordlessly scrambled out the door. Hitsugaya's eyes twitched when he saw one person still left in the room. What is he, deaf?

"Oi…" Hanatarou jumped and slowly turned his head to face the boy. "I would like it if you left the two of us to talk."

Truthfully, Hanatarou didn't want to leave. He was curious to know what happened and didn't want to face another round of "interrogation" from the others that was surely to come. He thought quickly. "U-um, you see…I think it would be best if I checked the wound…while the medicine is working…"

"Can't that wait until later?"

"Oh, just let him stay, Captain!" Matsumoto rolled her eyes. "Whatever you're going to say can't be that bad."

Hitsugaya pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, "All right…but…" A threatening glare to Hanatarou. "I don't want you to repeat what you hear to the others, or else it may cause some confusion." Hanatarou nodded and began to remove the bandages from Matsumoto's forehead. "So what is it?" Matusmoto asked. She teasingly patted a spot next to her as if telling the boy captain to sit down.

Hitsugaya didn't budge from his position on the doorway. "When you were knocked unconscious, the hollow was about to finish you off….I almost didn't make it." Matsumoto's bubbly persona grew somber as she watched her captain. He was being too hard on himself again. "The one who saved you, Matsumoto," his gaze met hers, "…was Ichimaru Gin."

Light blue eyes widened with shock and confusion. Now she understood why her captain wanted Hanatarou to leave. "…Ichimaru…Gin?!" the vice-captain gasped.

Hanatarou paused in the middle of his check-up. 'The traitor, Ichimaru Gin?' He resumed his activity slowly as he listened.

"I…I don't understand, Taichou…Why would he…?"

"I don't know either…I just thought I should tell you."

There was a pause.

"Matsumoto," he pushed himself off from the doorway, "just because he helped us this once doesn't change that he is still a traitor and a threat to Soul Society. Remember that." He slowly left the room, leaving behind his confused fukutaichou and a medic.

Hanatarou dabbed at the wound, now a small gash that was barely noticeable underneath the silky curls, with antiseptic. "The wound is almost gone," he commented quietly. "It should heal fine without the bandages." He looked at it one more time before he packed his white bag.

"Alright, thanks Hanatarou," Matsumoto said.

He gave her one last look before he closed the door behind him.

Matsumoto sighed in the empty room and a hand through her hair. Her lips trembled and she wrapped her arms around herself protectively. Her heart tore itself with confusion between the pale-haired boy who offered her the dried persimmon and the man deemed traitor

"_Sayonara, Rangiku_…_Gomen."_

"Gin," she whispered, "what goes on inside that head of yours?"

'Huh? Where did everyone go?' Hanatarou thought. He looked around the shop and finally went outside to see Urahara, Yoruichi, Tessai, Jinta, Ururu, and Nell outside the shop.

"Ano…"

"What is it?" Urahara asked.

"Where is everyone?"

"They split up to look for the hollows we told them about," Jinta answered.

"It's dangerous…" Ururu cast worried eyes out onto the roads.

"They probably won't find any," Yoruichi assured. "I scouted around and haven't seen anything suspicious as of yet."

"But, but what if they do get hurt?" Nell frowned.

Urahara's eyes glinted. "I know!" He put his hands on Hanatarou's shoulders. "Let's send him out!"

"…" Everyone gave him a deadpanned look.

"What's he gonna do?" Jinta crossed his arms. "Slap a hollow with that bag?"

The shop owner wagged a finger, "No, no, no. He's a medic! A medic's job is to heal. If we're all so worried about them getting hurt, why not send a medic? "

Hanatarou pointed a finger at himself. "M-me?"

"Yes, you!"

Urahara pushed him onto the road and waved him off. "If you see any of them, tell them to come back before dinner!"

Hanatarou didn't know what to do. Was the man serious or was he joking? He looked at the road, which divided in three ways. 'I guess I'll just take the middle one,' and started his search.

"Kisuke…" Yoruichi a vein twitched. "If that boy runs into danger, he wouldn't survive!"

"Oh, don't worry! He'll be fine, I'm sure!"

The little medic looked here and there for any signs of the group. 'I hope nothing comes out, and that I'll find someone soon!' He perked up when he felt a familiar reiatsu and ran towards it. There he saw Ichigo in his shinigami form standing on a roof.

"Kurosaki-san!"

"What the-!" Ichigo jumped down in front of him. "What are you doing here, Hanatarou? It's dangerous."

"Ah ha ha…yea…" Hanatarou laughed nervously. "He sent me out to find one of you and I guess be the healer of the group if there is trouble."

"That sandal-hat…!" Ichigo huffed. "Well, you're already here so it'd be best to stick with me for now."

They looked together for a the hollows but had no luck.

"I don't think there are any hollows," Hanatarou thought aloud.

"Yeah," Ichigo agreed. "Everyone else is probably back at the shop. Let's head back, Hanatarou."

As they turned, Hanatarou felt the back of his hair raise up as he felt evil waves of chakra. 'Chakra?' he thought. It came from a corner down the streets. Along with it he also felt two strange energies.

'Four hollows?' Hanatarou bit his lip. If it was, he wasn't confident he would be able to take them on and, if the hollows were as strong as Yoruichi-san said, knew even Ichigo would have a hard time.

"W-we should run," Hanatarou advised.

Ichigo didn't hear him and continued to stare at the direction of the energy flow. "Could it…?" he mumbled then dashed across the street.

"Kurosaki-san!" Hanatarou shouted. He gulped, "W-wait for me!" and ran after him.

They skidded to a stop to take in the scene before them.

There was a girl with blonde-pigtails and freckles who stood in-between an injured man and two humanoid hollows. The girl was mildly injured with cuts and scratches while the man had more serious wounds. He clutched onto the wall for support and blew his blood-matted, blond hair out of his face.

Hanatarou would have been fooled to think that the two were shinigamis except for one thing. The white masks on their faces. The man's mask was falling bit by bit, revealing light brown eyes and a frown that revealed large white teeth, but retained its pharaoh-like shape. The girl glared yellow eyes from behind a horned demon's mask.

"Arrancar?!" Hanatarou gasped. "What are they doing here?"

"No, they're not…" Ichigo stopped himself. He almost forgot that Orihime and Urahara were the only ones who knew of the vizards and his demon side. If Soul Society found out he himself was a vizard, what would they do? Even Orihime was scared when she first saw the cruel mask replace his face in Hueco Mundo.

'**But she accepted it in the end, ya know, King?' **the distorted voice in his head said.

'You!'

'**Besides,'** it gave a high pitched cackle, **'if he tries to rat us out, all we have to do is kill him!'**

'No! I can never kill a friend! Never!'

'…**Tsk, still naive…'**

The hollows' tongues lolled out as they panted, too. One had a feline-like mask and held two daggers while the other had a simple, plain mask and twirled its set of kunais.

"_So hungry…" _the feline hollow whined.

"_Patience, brother, patience. It's hard to eat food when it squirms about,"_ its glowing eyes leered at the blonde girl. _"I'll take the girl. You take the one behind her."_

The girl panted, "Sick freaks!" She glanced at the man. "Oi…the hell are…you doin', Shinji? Get your ass up…and lend me a hand! This is all your fault… to begin with."

"No, it's not…my fault those damn things just decided…to jump me from behind!" Shinji's legs collapsed and he slid off the wall. The feline hollow took that chance to attack the unconscious prey.

"Get away from him!" a sandaled foot kicked the hollow a distance away from the man. "Dumbass, this isn't the time to sleep!"

The girl sprinted to Shinji's side when a flash of white intercepted her. "Oomph!" her stomach made contact with a white elbow and she felt the wind get knocked out of her. She cried out when a kunai slashed her thigh.

"Hiyori!" Ichigo shouted. "Damnit!"

He clenched his fist and made up his mind: this wasn't the time to be hesitant. He put his hand over his face.

Hanatarou watched with awe as white particles swirled around Kurosaki's face. The hand whipped away to reveal a skull visor. 'That mask! Didn't I throw it away back in the sewers?' He shivered when he felt the raw power surge about the orange-haired boy. Ichigo's head turned to face him with downward eyes.

Ichigo turned his head, almost hesitantly, to Hanatarou. He tried to look at the boy's face but found himself unable to. Even though Orihime accepted this side of him now, he could never forget the look in her eyes when she first saw him like this. The fear that he was the cause of, it hurt him to think about it. He never wanted to see that look in anyone's eyes again.

"Hanatarou…you wait here and be safe."

The boy nodded dumbly as he watched Ichigo take off to fight the hollows. The feline one made several swipes at the teen and managed to land two. Ichigo hissed when he felt the cuts on his arms.

"Ichigo!" Hiyori shouted. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you think?" came a muffled reply. "Hiyori, take Shinji and get away! I'll take care of them." He blocked an attack and pushed the hollow away. He was already taking heavy damages from the battle. Wounds scattered here and there all over his body after a matter of minutes.

Hanatarou watched the fight numbly. 'Those masks…If you think about it…they don't look much different from _our_ own masks…' He shook his head and watched the girl, Hiyori, flash to Shinji's side. 'They're…Ichigo-san's friends, right?' He looked left to right until he deemed it to be safe, and jogged across the road to them. Hiyori noticed him and raised a sword at him threateningly.

"What the hell is a shinigami doing here?" golden eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"U-um…" Hanatarou took a step back and held his hands up submissively.

They both looked up when they heard a yowl. Ichigo slashed a large wound on the feline hollow. It pushed itself up feebly and staggered forward when it was stopped by a clawed hand_. "No, let me take care of this one. He's stronger than he looks."_

Ichigo gaped in surprise. Yoruichi was right, the hollows…acted so human. But then again, they were originally human spirits… They even, he thought almost sadly, seem pretty close.

"_What are you saying?" _the bloody hollow wheezed.

"_I'm saying you should back down. Back down from this battle, you wouldn't survive."_

The hollow growled but did as it as was told. It disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving the two fighters to themselves.

"That was awfully nice of you to do that," Ichigo smirked.

The hollow snorted and flung a shower of kunais. Ichigo's eyes widened and brought his arm up to protect his head. His arms received most of the damage, one struck his arm. He clenched his teeth and took it out. When he looked up his face met a fist. He tried to regain his balance but the hollow was quicker. It landed blow after blow of kicks and punches.

"Ichigo-san!" Hanatarou shouted. He wanted to help in any way then thought of an idea. His eyes searched the street until they found a jagged rock. He picked it up and weighed it in his hand. Looking up he pulled his arm back, aimed, then let the sharp stone fly from his hand. It soared through the air and hit its target. The hollow stopped its array of attacks on Ichigo when it felt the small rock bounce off its head. It growled and twisted its head to glare at the boy who threw it. Ichigo took the chance and raised his Zangetsu up into the air. "Yosh!" The hollow's eyes widened when it realized its mistake and turned to the enemy seconds too late. The black sword sliced down the hollow cleanly in half. With a wail and shower of blood, it disintegrated into the air.

Ichigo took a deep breath and sighed. "Whew! That was tough…but I think the espadas were harder to deal with," he said lightly.

He quickly shunpoed down to Hiyori and Shinji with Hanatarou behind him.

"Hiyori-"

"Don't come near!"

Ichigo was taken aback, a twinge of hurt in his eyes. The masks on the two wounded melted away revealing their faces: Shinji's long face, his eyes closed, and Hiyori's freckled face. Hiyori narrowed her eyes and snapped, "What the hell are you doing, bringing a shinigami in recklessly and just showing off your vizard form like that in front of him, huh?!"

Hanatarou was confused but stayed silent when he saw the guilt on Ichigo's face.

"I know it wasn't smart to do that but I couldn't just pretend I didn't know you guys and let those hollows kill you!"

"You're damn right it wasn't smart! What are we going to do, now that a shinigami knows about us?"

Ichigo replied, "Hanatarou's a medic, he can heal you guys. Look, it's probably going to be dangerous if we stay here so we should go to the hideout. There, Hanatarou can safely heal you up."

"Are you crazy! You think we're going to let him know where our hideout is and tell-"

"Hiyori!" Shinji rasped.

The argument silenced as the blond mumbled. "Just…let him in…"

Hiyori's hazel eyes widened. "But Shinji, he's-"

"Doesn't matter…Besides…something like this was bound to happen one day or another…" He fell unconscious again.

Hiyori chewed her lips then sneered, "Fine!" She pulled him up to a piggy-back and dashed away in a cloud of smoke. The lanky body on her billowed out like a flag, unconscious and unable to anchor its arm around the girl's neck.

"She's going to kill him like that…" Ichigo muttered.

"Um…Ichigo-san…"

Ichigo turned to Hanatarou.

"What…just happened?"

The substitute-shinigamis frowned. What does Hanatarou think of him now? Will he even come to help heal Hiyori and Shinji?

"Hanatarou…will you help them?" Ichigo asked. "They're…friends of mine. I'll explain on the way…"

Hanatarou saw how the teen in front of him tensed. He saw the fear of rejection yet a flicker of hope for acceptance. 'Monsters…demons…' he thought. 'Everybody has one, right? I should know first-hand.' He gave a small smile.

"I am a medic. It's my job to heal any wounds for a comrade."

Ichigo's shoulders sagged with relief and he gave a warm smile.

"Thanks, Hanatarou."

* * *

"…_Killed him…They killed him…" _Glowing red eyes full of anguish and hate watched the two shinigamis depart from the area of battle through the foiliage. They turned to the puddle of blood that was left behind.

"_I'll never forgive them…Never!… Monsters…murderers…"_ The eyes landed on the shorter one's back. _"It's his fault! He distracted Brother!!" It wailed. Fangs gnashed together in fury before the hidden hollow dashed away to seek revenge._

* * *

ahaha...whoa...that's it? ahaha, every chapter looks so short whenever i upload them on this...they look a bit longer on Word Processor...okay anyways, **any typos or mistakes?** **sorry if the story is not moving much(again)**. **but i did try to put some action..**.which was sort of a **fail **for me haha...anybody notice how i keep **recycling adjectives and verbs?** yea...i can't think of any good words! and every time i read _Once and Future King_ I'm like "woow...description's good!" okay well...yea...

The vizards make an entrance! and Ichigo's hollow! (just call him...Hichigo? Shiro? Nobody? bwahaha No-Name!) okay well yea...oh..is it just me or did my lil **feline hollow kinda remind anybody** of **Kadaj **from _FF7:Advent Children? _for anybody who's seen it ..haha..Kadaj...such a brother-complex


	8. READ OR BE CONFUSED depends

_**IMPORTANT!! PLEASE READ!!**_

_**DONT YOU DARE X OUT BEFORE YOU READ! OR ELSE YOU'LL GET CONFUSED!!**_

okay,

1. so sorry for not updating so far! i...am...so friggin lazy... throw your tomatoes, flames, and crap at me! i open my arms to them! cause i mean, i get disappointed too when i see a notice instead of a new chapter when i read fanfiction.

2. if you're bothered by how slow the story is progressing and not getting to the point of Hanatarou revealing that he's a shinobi and crap, you're not the only one. I'm gettin all blah because of that.

3. there are few things i want to tweak, like make the bijuu in Hanatarou a bit meaner. also, i want to make the story get to the point faster.

i try to give almost every character some story scene time but it gets so hard and complicated to remeber who's present and who's not. i even totally forgot about Yuuko and XXXholic!! ();

so what i'm trying to say is:

_**Should i start the whole story over? I mean, the WHOLE friggin story right from the start. i bet there are some who are like "...are you friggin serious? we're gonna have to start reading this aaaalll over?! NO!" while other are like "...yeaaaaa.. this is gettin kinda..blah..."**_

if i start the story over here's what will happen:

I might have one or two chapters stay the same except with few changes. others, i may totally change- **maybe even change the beginning of the story(instead of being in Hueco Mundo I may just have the whole Bleach gang back in Soul Society)**

but i'm leaving this up to you guys. those in favor for a complete re-make say "YES" those who are fine with this everso slow progressing story say "NO".

ah, if you say "no" i'm working on the next chapter and giving a heads up that it kinda sucks hahaha...

please give an answer!


	9. Chpt 7 Meet the Vizards

Hallo~ So i'm not re-writing (it'll probably make me lazier than i already am). sorry for the long wait, and this may not be an awesome chapter but the plots movin' now little by little ain't it?

saa~ on to the new chapter~

* * *

**Chpt 7- Meet the Vizards**

The four arrived in front of a seemingly abandoned storage building. Hanatarou cautiously looked at the large building with its broken windows and beer bottles that were lying about. The air surrounding the building seemed heavy, like a barrier. He jumped when Hiyori roughly pushed up the entrance to the building, the metal going 'clatter, clatter' as it slid up. With the entrance, the invisible barrier also seemed to dissipate. The three people in front of him began to enter the building. He followed Ichigo behind closely, the shinigami being the only person he knew and felt safer to be with. When they were in the building he was surprised to see more people.

"Shinji, Hiyori!" the six people cried out in unison and gathered around their injured comrade.

"What happened?" asked a well-built man with short, gray-hair and piercings.

Hiyori lowered Shinji onto a blanket that a large man wearing a tuxedo and pink hair set down, and plopped down beside him. "Those hollows that have been recently appearin' attacked us out of the blue," she replied. Two females, one with glasses, and the other with bright green hair and goggles, helped Hiyori peel off her bloody jacket.

"Who's that?" A man with long, wavy, blonde hair pointed to Hanatarou.

"A friend of Ichigo's," Hiyori grumbled.

"He is a shinigami," an afro-haired man with sunglasses pointed out with a frown.

"Ahaha…"Hanatarou laughed nervously and looked down, he could feel the air tense with distrust and wariness.

Ichigo sighed and put a reassuring hand on the shorter boy's shoulder, "Stop it you guys, you're scaring him."

"**Che. I bet I can take them on!"** Hanatarou shushed the voice in his head. True, he's been in more dangerous situations than this but taking on a group of people that could probably turn into part hollows like Hiyori was not a fun thought. He brought his eyes up to see wide, brown eyes blink back at him.

"Eep!" he yelped.

The lime-haired girl quirked an eyebrow, "What's your name?"

"Oh…um…Yamada Hanatarou…Nice to…meet you?" he greeted slowly.

"Hanatarou-kun, huh?" she smiled and pointed to herself, "I'm Kuna Mashiro." She pointed to the pink-haired man who was healing Hiyori, "That's Hachigen or just Hachi." The man with the afro, "Love." The serious man with gray-hair, "Kensei." The wavy haired man, "Rose." The female with glasses and braid, "and Lisa. I'm sure you know Hiyori and Shinji by now!"

Hanatarou gave a shy smile. 'She seems friendly,' he thought.

"Oi, Yamada!"

He looked at Hiyori who the blond next to her, "Didn't ya say your goin' to heal Shinji? Get on to it!"

"Ah! O-of course!" the young medic started forward but hesitated when he remembered that Ichigo was also injured. "But what about Ichigo-san?"

"I'll be fine," Ichigo grunted as he sat next to the man with gray hair and piercing. "It's just my arm along with some other small wounds; I've had worse. Go ahead with Shinji."

Satisfied with the consent, Hanatarou jogged over to Shinji's side. His jacket and shirt were taken off to reveal the bloody wound across his stomach. Hanatarou observed the wound and gingerly touched it here and there.

"Can you heal it?" Rose looked over Hanatarou's shoulder. "Usually it's Hachi who heals everyone but he's busy with Hiyori..."

"Ah, of course!" Hanatarou nodded. "Don't worry, he'll be fine."

The man gave a smile, "Thank you," and walked away to take a seat next to the man with the afro. They began to discuss different topics of animes.

Hanatarou expertly cleaned the wound then put his hands above the gash and inhaled. 'Using chakra one more time shouldn't hurt,' he thought. Ever since he healed Matsumoto-fukutaichou's wounds, he itched to use chakra again; it had been so long since he used it. Besides, using chakra just felt more natural to him then using reiatsu. A satisfied sigh escaped his lips as he felt the cells within Shinji's wound heal his hands. After minutes of healing, he took out the bandages and neatly wrapped the fabrics around the wound. He smiled at his finished work but stopped when he felt eyes on him. Wide eyes glanced up to meet pale brown eyes of the large man healing Hiyori. 'Can he sense the chakra?' he gulped but shook his head. "Nah…"

Hanatarou stood and walked to Ichigo's side. The girls had cleaned the wound on the orange-haired death god, wrapping up the smaller wounds while they were at it. Hanatarou brought the injured arm closer to inspection. Then he laid a green, glowing hand over the middle of the wound, where the cut was deepest. As he was healing the arm, the medic's mind began to wander over Ichigo's transformation and the white mask. He brought the bandages back out and wrapped them around over and under, over and under, over and under….

"Um…Hanatarou…I think that's enough…"

"Ara?" Hanatarou stopped and looked down. He had wrapped the arm so much that it bulged out! "Ah, I'm sorry!" He quickly unwrapped the excessive cloths.

"You okay?" Ichigo asked.

Hanatarou decided to seize the chance for answers.

"Ichigo-san?"

"Yeah?"

"Who…what…um…what are they?" Hanatarou whispered hesitantly. "That mask. I threw that mask down into the sewers."

Ichigo looked away, he couldn't face the medic's gaze. "Ah…yea…about that. How should I say this…"

"We are, what you would call, Vizards," Hachi gently said as if explaining to a small child.

"Hachi!" Hiyori snapped. "You're not supposed to reveal-"

"He's already seen us," Shinji interrupted.

"Vizards?" Hanatarou tilted his head.

"Shinigamis who acquired abilities of Hollows," Lisa stated bluntly.

"So Ichigo-san is also a vizard?" curious eyes were directed to Ichigo, who still didn't look at him.

"Yes."

'Shinigamis with powers of hollows…' Hanatarou thought in awe. 'Like Jinchuurikis.' However, there was one thing that confused him. "Um…I never heard of vizards when I was in Soul Society."

The people before him grimaced. "Soul Society isn't very fond of us," Rose said carefully. Everyone's faces turned grim.

"Hanatarou," Shinji groaned as he gingerly sat up, "don't speak of this to anyone. If Soul Society were to find out that Ichigo's a vizard…"

"Who knows how they'll react…" Ichigo ended with a frown. "So far, only you, Orihime, Nell, Yoruichi, and those from the Urahara shop knows."

"Orihime?" Lisa asked.

"Yea, it was when I fought with Grimmjow."

"How did she take it?"

Ichigo gave a faint smile, "Better than I thought…"

"Nell is that arrancar child, right? Yoruichi told us about her."

"Yea, she's a good kid," Ichigo said.

"So, anyways," Hiyori said, "don't you dare speak of this to anyone!"

"I-I won't," Hanatarou promised. "Oh, and speaking of Urahara-san, he told me to tell you to come back before dinner."

The group around him couldn't help but smile at the random input. Ichigo grinned, "Yeah, we should go."

"I'll go with you," Shinji grunted as he struggled up. "There's probably more of those hollows lurking about so-"

"Idiot!" a slipper hurtled through the air and slapped the blond in the face. Hiyori winced as a tinge of pain erupted from her arm. She growled, "We're not even fully healed yet you want to go back out there?!"

Shinji sighed with a pout, "But I want to see Orihime-chan..."

"Hiyori's right Shinji. It would be best if you rest."

Everyone turned to the new voice.

"Heeeehh?! Yoruichi, what are you doing here?" Ichigo asked.

"Kisuke sent me to look for you two," the black cat replied as she cleaned her face. "So, I take it that Hanatarou knows about vizards now?"

"Yeah."

"What do you think about this, Hanatarou?" golden eyes glanced at the boy.

Hanatarou felt everyone's scrutinizing stare but shrugged slightly with a smile, "They are good people and Ichigo's friends."

Yoruichi looked satisfied with the answer, "Good."

* * *

The vizards surrounded Ichigo, Hanatarou, and Yoruichi to say good-bye. There were laughters and smiles on everyone's face. Hanatarou was glomped by Mashiro while Ichigo promised to visit whenever he could.

"Yoruichi." black ears twitched as the cat's name was called.

She slinked through the tangles of legs to the gentle giant. "What is it, "Hachi?"

"Your suspicion with that boy," a thick finger pointed at Hanatarou, "was correct. But it's hard to picture him as one of 'them.'"

Yoruichi nodded, "Ah, me too. However, there are many who live hidden in Seireitei the nobles don't know about."

Hachi shook his head, "If only the nobles were more open-minded…" Yoruichi gave a look of understanding.

"Well, I'll be taking the two brats with me," Yoruichi said.

"Alright, be careful out there," Hachi warned.

"Ichigo, Hanatarou, we're leaving!" Yoruichi announced.

"Hai!"

* * *

"The streets are empty," Ichigo commented as the group of three shunpoed through the air. Well, Hanatarou couldn't shunpo so he had to settle with being carried on Ichigo's back. The shinigamis's face was still red as he held on to Ichigo's neck.

"But be on a look-out," Yoruichi cautioned. "These hollows specialize in surprise attacks. But I think we're safe for now."

"U-um Ichigo-san," Hanatarou stammered, "You're really okay with me on your back? I'm not burdening you am I?"

"Nah, you're really light," Ichigo replied.

There was an awkward silence until he asked, "So, you're really fine with me being a vizard?"

Yoruichi peeked behind her to hear the answer.

"Of course!" Hanatarou blurted. "Even if you're a vizard, you are still my friend." He lightly blushed out of embarrassment as he asked in a low voice, "We are friends, aren't we?"

"Yeah..." Ichigo smiled as he felt his spirit at ease. Yoruichi also smiled.

"We're friends."

* * *

"_No."_

"_What!"_ the feline-masked hollow rose up from the small group of hollows. It's gold eyes glared at each of its comrades. _"Why?"_

"_It is foolish to seek revenge over one death, Veneno Gato . Especially when you know you will be overpowered." _one answered.

"_He was my brother!"_

"_No, you two met each other on a whim. Sticking together because neither of you would have been able to survive without help from one another." _another sneered.

"_That hollow was always a strange one. Acted too much like a 'human' with his 'emotions.'"_

Veneno Gato gave a screech, _"Screw you, then! I will carry out the revenge myself. When I succeed, we'll see who's right and who's wrong!" _It dashed away out of sight.

"_His rage is fueling him."_

"_What a fool."_

"_It'll be the downfall of him."_

_

* * *

_Yeah. so how was it? a bit short? yea i thought so too. i'm halfway done with next chapter so please be patient~ aw, doesnt don't you feel a tiny bit sorry for Veneno Gato? eheheh. don't you not like the nobles sometimes? well, i don't know if it's the nobles but i mean those judge people..dudes...nobles...whoever that kicked the vizards out. OH! and noone else knows about Ichigo's hollow right?....i know Byakuya saw a tiny bit but....

please Comment!~


	10. Chpt 8 Kei

Fwaaahh, another chapter! sorry it's been a while since update, I was going to make it either really long or upload two chapters at the same time but project and exam made me all- bllaahhh. grawrrr but it's winter break, so yaaaayy

* * *

**Chpt 8- Kei**

"Where were you guys?" Rukia asked.

Everyone gathered together for dinner. The sounds of eating and aromas of food filled the room.

"Mmmph," Ichigo swallowed his food. "Ran into a bit of trouble."

"Are you okay?" Inoue asked.

Ichigo nodded, "Yeah, what about you guys? Run into anything?"

"Nope," Ishida picked at some fish.

"Nothing," Chad mumbled.

"Were they scwary?" Nel asked as she munched on some fish.

"Yeah, a little," Ichigo smiled.

Yachiru slammed her chopsticks down, stood on her chair, and leaned across the table. Her bright eyes gleamed mischievously. "Ne, ne, were they strong?"

Ichigo twitched at the close proximity, "Yeah, I guess you could say that…"

"Grah, I'm just itching!" Kenpachi gave a crazed grin. "I just can't wait to fight one!"

"They are not to be taken lightly," Hitsugaya added. His eyes fell on his lieutenant sitting next to him; the white bandage showed through her strawberry-blonde curls. Matsumoto felt his eyes on her injury. "Ara, Taichou, were you thinking about me?" she grinned.

"W-wha-" the short captain sputtered and turned back to his food. "Quit spouting nonsense!"

"Aw!" Matsumoto put her spoon down and glomped the boy. "My captain's worried about me!"

"Matsumoto!!!!!" came the muffled reply as the captain struggled. The thin, tan arms scrabbled against the vice-captain's grip, paused, then went limp.

"I think you killed him," Urahara grinned. He wouldn't mind dying like that.

"Eh?!" she wrenched the limp boy away from her. "Oh no! I'm so sorry, Captain!"

Everyone laughed as she desperately shook him awake, the white-haired boy blushing and yelling.

"Hm?" Yoruichi just finished eating her twentieth bowl when she saw a small shadow dash across the hall. She gobbled down the last bits of rice then set the bowl down with a belch_. _"Ah, that was some good food. Kisuke, I'm gonna go walk around a bit."

The shop owner nodded. He, too, saw the shadow.

When Yoruichi was out of sight, she quickly morphed to her cat form. The dark hallway instantly became bright as day as her gold eyes adjusted. She nimbly walked to the direction where the shadow went.

"Hmm, I think this is his room."

Yoruichi froze, a paw in the air, a velvet ear twitched. The thing was in Matsumoto's room.

"Mmm…when is he gonna come. Ugh…"

"When is who gonna come?" Yoruichi revealed herself. The creature hidden in the shadow of the moonlight jumped and whirled around.

"Shit!"

"Who are you?" Yoruichi demanded. By the outline of the shadow, it had short legs, a tail, and a long body. Its small eyes, glowing from the moonlight, narrowed in scrutiny.

"A nin-cat?"

Yoruichi was puzzled. Nin-cat?

The creature saw her pause and took the chance to escape.

"Damn!" Yoruichi cursed when she realized her mistake.

The creature gave a startled cry when the cat seemed to teleport in front of it, blocking its escape. The shadow backed away until its rump bumped into the corner of the room. "Grr!" it snarled. Yoruichi's eyes widened when the creature lunged for her throat with lightning speed.

* * *

"Hm? Where's that medic?" Jinta asked.

"Restroom," Ururu replied.

The dishes and bowls were all cleaned, the dining table cleared. Everyone relaxed in the midst of each other.

"Well," Urahara stood, "shall I get some sake--?" He stopped when he heard a crash and thud.

"What was that!" Inoue gasped. Everyone stood up, tense in anticipation.

There were sounds of tumbling, running, yowling, and hissing.

"That sounds like Yowuichi!" Nel squeaked from behind Ichigo.

Everyone sprinted to the origin of the sound. They came to the dark hallway where the sounds were getting louder. Then, out of Matsumoto's room tumbled two shadows, one of them Yoruichi. They wrestled about hissing and growling. Finally, the unknown creature broke away.

"Kisuke! Don't let it get away!" Yoruichi cried.

Everyone made a grab for it, lunging and pouncing.

"I got it!"

"Idiot!"

"No wait, I'll get it!"

"Argh!"

"What the hell is that?!"

"Ow, you fell on me, aho!"

The creature slipped around the corner and disappeared.

"After it!" Urahara yelled.

* * *

Hanatarou sighed as he closed the bathroom door behind him. 'It's been a long day,' he thought as he stared blankly at the dark hallway. He didn't like the way the hall looked so spooky so he searched for the switch. He groped the wall until his fingers brushed the switch and flipped it, brightly lighting up the hall.

'That's better,' he thought. "Hm...Is it just me…or is it quiet?'

Then, floor seemed to shake. 'An earthquake?!'

"AAhhhh!!!!"

Hanatarou watched in terror as captains, vice-captains, humans, and cat ran into the wall at the other end of the hallway. In the cloud of dust a small shadow wriggled out of the mass of bodies and ran to his direction.

"Hana-chan, Hana-chan, Hana-chan, Hana-chan," the little brown blur chanted as it streaked across the hard-wood floor. "Hana-chan!" It leaped up to its goal.

"Kei!" the stupefied medic caught the furry mongoose in his arms. "What are you doing here?"

The mammal looked up with its bright beady eyes and gave a nervous grin. "Um, heheh…Found you?"

Hanatarou brought the animal closer to him. "You shouldn't be here!" he hissed.

Kei flattened his little ears and hissed back, "Hey, I'm just doing my job alright? I was given orders to look for you and, voila, mission accomplished."

Hanatarou groaned, "But you're not supposed to get caught!"

"Hey, not my fault! How was I supposed to know there would be a nin-cat here?"

"Nin-cat? Never mind," Hanatarou sighed. He turned his attention back to the audience. 'Great, now they're really going to ask questions.'

Ichigo brought up a shaking hand up, pointing at the creature in Hanatarou's arms. "The mongoose… it talks!"

* * *

"Oooh, so she wasn't a nin-cat."

"No, Kei, she wasn't. You attacked Yoruichi-san," Hanatarou explained, his smile twitched.

Everyone was in a room, Yoruichi and Urahara gone to fix Yoruichi's scratches. Curious eyes stared at the talking animal; Nell and Yachiru boldly petted Kei's brown fur while Chad tentatively joined them.

"Is that thing yours, Yamada?" Hitsugaya asked, his cold glare sent chills all over Hanatarou's body.

"N-no, sir. Kei belongs to a friend of mine."

"It's amazing how he can talk!" Matsumoto commented. "At first, I thought he was a person with similar powers as Yoruichi's."

"Nope, lady, I'm a hundred percent mongoose," Kei piped up.

Then, Urahara came in with Yoruichi, who had several small scratches on her body. Hanatarou immediately gave the cat-lady a low bow of apology. "Gomenasai, Yoruichi-san! Please forgive Kei. He's a bit of…an idiot." Hanatarou glared at the mongoose and nodded his head towards the cat-lady.

Kei grumbled as he walked over to Yoruichi. He lowered the upper part of his body in an awkward bow. "Please accept my apology, miss. It was a terrible misunderstanding."

Yoruichi chuckled, "Apology accepted."

Satisfied, the mongoose returned to his post in Hanatarou's arms.

"Yosh!" Urahara clapped his hands. "Now that we've put that aside, I have a question for our little mongoose friend."

"Nani?"

"Yoruichi told me you called her a 'nin-cat,'" Urahara tapped his chin. "Does that make you a, what, a nin-mongoose or something?"

Kei felt Hanatarou's grip on him tighten. He narrowed his gold eyes. "What's it to you?"

"Nin-cat? Nin-mongoose?" Ichigo asked.

"You see," Urahara started, "I've only heard stories, but it is supposed that there are people known as 'shinobis.'"

"Shinobis?" Ishida quirked an eyebrow, "As in ninjas?"

"Hai," Urahara replied. "I've read somewhere that some shinobis made pacts with animals to help them in fights."

"Why haven't I heard about them before?" Ichigo asked.

"You could say they have hidden themselves within Soul Society. They are very secretive," Hitsugaya explained. "The nobles find them…distasteful so they are not allowed within Seireitei. The funny thing is that the 2nd Division is similar to shinobis yet a bit different. … "

"I've also heard rumors that there are many shinobis who got into Seireitei by using fake identities," Matsumoto added.

"Wait, if Kei belongs to Hanatarou's friend…then doesn't that mean that his friend is a shinobi!" Rukia realized. "If his friend is found out, it would cause trouble."

"Or," Urahara pointed out, "it could mean that Yamada-kun is also a shinobi."

Hanatarou had to calm himself. 'Don't panic. Don't show any emotions,' he thought. 'He doesn't have proof.'

"Hahaha, this kid a shinobi?" Kenpachi laughed. "I've heard of them. They're supposed to be pretty strong. I can't picture the kid as one, though."

"Yeah," Matsumoto agreed. "I heard that some kill people in cold-blood."

"Hanatarou-kun would never do that," Orihime gasped. She turned to the boy. "Ne?"

No one noticed Hanatarou flinch but Kei. 'Oh, if only she knew,' Kei thought. Hanatarou faced Urahara and gave a meek smile, "I-I don't see how I could be such scary person." His mouth felt dry as he said those words.

Urahara watched the boy for any emotions. Finding none, he got bored. "Oh well," he sighed and got up, "it would have been interesting." As he went through the door his hand slipped into his sleeves.

"Whoa!" Everyone cried as a white streak zipped through the air.

"Oi, Hanatarou!" Kei shouted. "Watch out!"

"Itai!" Hanatarou clutched his throbbing head. He picked up the object of fault: a closed fan.

"Ahaha, oops," Urahara scratched the back of his head. "Seems like my hand slipped."

"Urahara, you…" Ichigo gritted his teeth. Who the hell could make a mistake like that?!

Hanatarou handed the fan back to the shopkeeper. He flinched as he touched the small bump on his head.

* * *

"He's lying again." Yoruichi jumped on the counter. Urahara was organizing the candies and snacks.

"He's very good at it, too" Urahara mused. "If Hachi also agrees with us about him, he's definitely one of them."

"Why are you so interested in shinobis all of a sudden, anyways?" the cat's back leg briskly scratched her lean stomach.

"Well," the storekeeper hummed, "haven't you noticed the similarity between the descriptions of shinobis and the hollows that have been popping up?"

"Ah, I see…"

"I was hoping that if Hanatarou was one of them, he could help us understand more about a shinobi's way of life. If we do, then maybe we can find a way to get rid of these hollows."

"But if he is found out, there will be trouble between him and the higher-ups."

"Meh," Urahara shrugged. "I guess all we have left is to wait until Hanatarou has no choice but to reveal himself."

* * *

"Shinobis sound very interesting," Ishida commented.

"Un, but they also sound a bit frightening," Orihime shivered. Sure, she had seen shinigamis against hollows, shinigamis fighting against their fellow peers, and first-hand deaths of the human-like espadas. But humans killing other humans? That was murder, something she's only read and heard on the news!

"I wish one would come," Kenpachi muttered. He was bored but didn't want to go back to Soul Society yet. And besides, he thought as he along with Chad watched Yachiru and Nel play around with the mongoose, his lieutenant didn't seem ready to go yet.

"Where did Hanatarou go again?" Ichigo asked.

"I think he went to the bathroom to check on his head," Rukia answered.

Kei paused in the middle of his romp with the two girls. "I'll go check on him," he said and walked to the bathroom.

When the mongoose arrived at the bathroom door, he pawed the wooden entrance, "Hana-chan, it's me." He heard the door click open, letting just enough space for the animal's lithe body to slip through. "How's the bump?" he asked.

"I'll be fine," Hanatarou replied, his reiatsu-covered hand was over the area of the bump.

"You know," Kei sat on the cold tile floor, "it would have been so easy to dodge that. Hell, even a genin wouldn't have to think to dodge that."

"I know."

"Yet, you let it hit you on purpose."

"He was testing me."

"That shopkeeper probably knows everything, anyways," Kei stared at a bug crawling by.

"But Ichigo-san and the others don't," Hanatarou leaned towards the mirror, his fingers brushing back his hair. It seemed that the swelling went down.

"You know they're going to find out soon, anyways," Kei snorted. He turned and slipped out of the bathroom.

Hanatarou straightened back up and stared at his reflection.

"_Hanatarou-kun would never do that, ne?"_

The medic grimaced. 'Even if they're going to find out soon,' he thought, 'I don't want them to know yet.'

* * *

Demon eyes gleamed through the darkness.

"_They're here, I can smell them," _snarled Veneno Gato. He finally found them! His nose found a trace of his brother's blood, probably from the orange-haired boy's clothes. The smell led him to a small shop. Soon, he would be able to get revenge for Brother's death.

He sniffed the air again.

There were more souls in the shop besides the two shinigamis he had encountered. Perhaps he should kill them before the two boys. Then, they will also feel the pain, the same excruciating pain that seems to have possessed him.

Veneno Gato shuddered in anticipation. He could already hear their screams of death, cries for mercy, feel their flesh be torn to shreds by his claws and fangs.

"_I can't wait any longer,"_ he breathed. His body jolted forward, rage pulsing through his veins. He sprung out of hiding, letting out a terrifying screech.

* * *

"Matsumoto," Hitsugaya warned.

"Hai, a hollow is coming," the lieutenant began to unsheathe her sword.

"Lets go."

"Hai."

* * *

Rukia snapped her head to the window. "A hollow's coming. It's coming to the entrance."

Everyone scrambled to their feet and hurried out of the shop. Nel followed after them but was stopped by a large hand.

"You stay inside, Nel," Ichigo ordered.

"But, but--," she protested.

"I don't want you to get hurt," Ichigo explained. He smiled, ruffled her green locks, and shunpoed outside.

"But, I don't want to be alone," the ex-espada finished. She pouted, then ran down the hall. There was no way she was going to be left behind, all alone in this big shop while everyone else went out to fight!

Then, she stopped.

Where's the entrance, again?

* * *

Hanatarou's hair bristled when he heard the screech, a sound similar to nails scratching a chalkboard. 'It must be the hollow that got away,' he thought when he felt the familiar energy in the air.

"Hanatarou!" Kei ran past the medic. "Come on, everyone is at the entrance."

The boy nodded and followed the little mongoose behind. When he rounded the corner, he bumped into the small arrancar.

"Nel!"

"Ah, Hanatawou!" Nel cried.

Hanatarou grabbed her hand and helped her up, "Sorry, didn't see you. You okay?"

"Un," Nel rubbed her side. She was relieved to find someone to keep her company.

"Oi, Hana-chan, enough chatting and lets go!" the mongoose barked.

"Y-yea! Sorry, Nel, but I have to go. Stay here where it's safe."

Nel blinked as she the boy and mongoose go. Not once but twice she had been dumped. "W-wait!" she shouted, running after them. "Don't leave me alone!"

* * *

aaiighhttt~ any mistakes in writing? i was lazy to check haha. hmmmm....is it me or does this chapter seem a bit...fast? i dunno i wasn't really pleased with it. ugh, and yeaaa i coulda have Hanatarou reveal himself but NOT YET! aahh not yet~

Read and Review please! i love readin them reviews.

Tale of Despereaux was cute~ and Booya was tasty~


	11. Chpt 9 Veneno Gato

GWAAHHHH!! How long has it been?! omgg~ aahhh~. first it was research papers (ugh!!) then it was just plain lazyness. I just couldnt stand typing the fight scenes! Even though they were perfectly in my head, my fingers were like "...durrr..." lol. anywaysssss hope you like this. i tried to put as much details and voila...it took up about 7 pages on Microsoft Works! wtfffff, i can easily type this yet i suck at research papersss! hahaha

* * *

**Chpt 9- Veneno Gato**

By the time Hanatarou arrived at the entrance, everyone else had their weapons out.

"Here we are," Kei stated and sat on his rump.

Nel gasped when she finally caught up to the 4th Squad medic, quickly clutching onto the strap of Hanatarou's medic bag. The bloodlust from the hollow mixed with various reiatsus almost choked her. Hanatarou, noticing her stress, set a gentle hand on her head with a reassuring smile. Nel gulped but relaxed her grip. If Ichigo could take down the Cuarta Espada, then this one should be a piece of cake!

Ichigo was clear out in front, his hand grabbing the hilt of Zangetsu on his back. The light from the moon illuminated his fierce, brown eyes as he glared at the monster in front of him, daring it to harm his friends.

Urahara, Yoruichi, and Tessai decided to stay back, let the others handle the monster until they were needed. The sandy blond-haired man twirled his cane as he fanned himself. "Are, are…" he said. "It does look very human-like than most hollows."

The children, Ururu, Yachiru, and Jinta, were on the roof of the shop ready to help in any way. The black, pig-tailed girl meekly cheered with the bubbly Yachiru for everyone to "do their best" while the fiery red-head gripped his tetsubo-like weapon, eager to jump in at any chance.

Hitsugaya and Matsumoto were in the air, their kimonos fluttering from the cool night breeze. Hitsugaya glanced at his vice-captain. "How is your head?" Rangiku turned serious eyes to her captain…then winked and blew him a kiss, irking the little boy.

Chad, Ishida, Orihime, and Rukia took their stance, ready to help out their strawberry friend.

Veneno Gato hissed, his yellow eyes glowing in the dark with hatred. The feline hollow flexed his hands before the claws elongated to several inches; the white tail swung back and forth in irritation; hot air expelled from the fangs of the white mask.

"You're the hollow from before," Ichigo stated.

"Yes, and you are the murderer of Brother," the monster cat snapped. "But soon… it will all be over, right after I kill YOU!" The monster screeched as he disappeared.

"Ichigo, watch out!" Orihime cried.

Ichigo's eyes widened when the burst of power reappeared beside him. He quickly drew Zangetsu, the white bandages unraveling, to block the elongated claws. Sparks burst as zanpakutou grinded against claws.

Urahara gave a low whistle, "Hyuu…teleportation…"

"Graah!" Ichigo shouted as he pushed against his sword, throwing off the feline hollow. Veneno Gato jumped back but quickly did a back-flip to avoid a blue arrow of energy. The hollow turned to see where the attack came from, meeting Ishida's narrow eyes. The Quincy jumped in the air, drew his arm back, and created a shower of blue light. Veneno Gato turned somersaults here and there to dodge then disappeared in a poof of smoke, reappearing right in front of Ishida's face. "Too slow!" the monster growled. A swift kick sent the white-clad boy to the wall of fake buildings.

"Ishida!" Ichigo cried.

"I-idiot…I'm fine," the smoke from the debris cleared off to show the Quincy between the rubbles. Ishida slowly stood then began to walk out of the mess. He coughed and sat down, wincing as he felt a sharp pain in his side.

Medic instincts kicking in, Hanatarou bolted from Nel's grasp. He hopped up the debris to reach the injured teen. Kneeling down, Hanatarou opened Ishida's shirt then put a glowing hand over the discoloration. "It's definitely a fractured rib," Hanatarou said. He began to heal the wound with one hand while opening his white medic bag with the other. Taking a roll of bandages, the medic wrapped Ishida's chest. "Besides this and some bruises, it seems that you're fine." Ishida nodded then saw Ichigo looking over worriedly.

"Don't," he took short breaths. "Don't take your eyes off the enemy, baka!"

Ichigo bristled. Here he was worried about the Quincy and he gets snapped at! However, he quickly returned his focus to the hollow. In the nick of time, he dodged a kick that would have also sent him to the buildings. He was about to charge at the monster but stopped when the captain of the 11th division stepped in front of him.

"Kenpachi!"

"Yo, I'll be taking this one," the captain grinned. "Can't let you have all the fun. Stay out or I'll cut you down!"

Ichigo gulped and quickly stepped back.

"Yaay! Go Ken-chan! Beat that pussy up!" Yachiru cheered.

"Alright!" Kenpachi yelled, his dull zanpakutou out. "Let's go!"

Veneno Gato narrowed his eyes. The difference of power between them was painfully obvious. The man with small bells on his spiked hair was practically brimming with sealed energy! However, he decided to take a chance to attack. The feline hollow dashed to the scarred man, bringing his elongated claws down as hard as he could.

Kenpachi didn't dodge or parry the attack but stood there, grinning.

Veneno Gato quickly jumped back to his original spot right after he attacked. He wasn't surprised when he saw that his attack only left thin lines on the man's chest, blood barely trickling out from them.

"Is that it?" Kenpachi frowned. Sure the cat-like monster was nimble but it wasn't as strong as he had hoped. He was getting bored already, not seeing what was so fun about these new hollows.

'There's more to those cuts than you think,' Veneno Gato thought as he eyed the glaring, red marks. Sadly, he probably wouldn't be alive to see the effects of those trivial wounds. However, that didn't matter to him now. The hollow knew he was at a disadvantage by numbers and would be overpowered by the captains. He needed to attack them in some way that it would cause pain no matter how small!

"Ken-chan! Ken-chan!"

Veneno Gato brought his attention to the cheers coming from the small pink-haired girl. He had seen her hanging on to the scarred man's back before jumping on to the roof. The monster grinned as he thought of an idea.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

With a poof of smoke, five Veneno Gatos stood where only one was.

'Clones!' Urahara thought.

"Go!" one of them yelled as it thrust an arm out front. Four of the hollows disappeared, teleporting to their own separate targets.

* * *

Quickly, Matsumoto drew her sword to face one of the clones that was heading their way.

"Stand down, Matsumoto!" Hitsugaya ordered. "Let me take care of this one."

"H-hai," Matsumoto replied hesitantly and sheathed her Haineko.

The white-haired captain took a step then shunpoed in front of the hollow clone. The two clashed in a flurry of claws and sword. When they separated, the hollow had minor wounds while the boy had none. The hollow clone swung its tail around, causing Hitsugaya to falter. Taking the chance, the monster faked an attack. Hitsugaya brought his sword up to block but was taken by surprise when the monster grabbed his zanpakutou. "Hmph," Hitsugaya smirked. Suddenly, the clone felt the blade in its hand grow cold. It pulled its hand back only to find it stuck! Ice quickly began to encase the clawed hand, crawling up to the arm. In a panic the fake monster began to screech. Then, out of desperation, it brought its head to where small child-like hands were holding the hilt and bit down. Hitsugaya winced and yanked his hand away from the fangs. By then, the clone was completely frozen and disappeared in a poof of smoke.

"Are you alright, Taichou?" Matsumoto asked.

Hitsugaya glanced distastefully at the trickle of blood on his hand. "Yea," he simply wiped his hand on his kimono, "I'm fine."

* * *

Rukia quickly whipped her head to the left to dodge two shurikens, a few strands of hair cut from the sharp stars. " Mae, Sode no Shirayuki!" Rukia cried as she released her zanpakutou. The air around her cooled as her sword turned white. Ice crystals swirled around her as she slowly spun the sword, the white ribbon on the pommel forming a wide circle in the air. "Some no mai, tsukishiro!" A circle of bright light formed underneath the monster clone in front of her. Sensing the danger, the clone jumped in the air but was too late as ice quickly enclosed the fiend. 'Got it!' she thought. Her eyes widened, however, as the clone disappeared with a brick in its place. Before she could react, a kunai cut her on the leg. Rukia hissed and clutched at the wound. She quickly shot a kido spell at the monster but it dodged the attack. The Kuchiki braced herself as the monster threw a set of kunais at her.

"Santen kesshun, I reject!"

The metal weapons bounced from the shield formed in front of Rukia.

"Orihime!" Rukia gasped.

The clone glared at the orange-haired girl. "You-!" it was interrupted by a punch to the side of its head. The clone disappeared with a poof.

"Chad!"

"Are you okay?" The tall teen asked.

"Yea," Rukia stood up but hissed from the cut on her leg.

"You're hurt! Here, let me heal you," Orihime offered.

"No, it's okay," Rukia waved her off. "It's a small wound. Just some bandages will do."

Orihime hesitated but nodded. She stared at the cut on her friend's leg, unable to shake off a foreboding feeling.

* * *

Nel squealed when she saw one of the two remaining hollows running towards her.

"Ha!"

In a blur of pink, Yachiru jumped from the roof, landing on the hollow's face. Using the moment of distraction, she grabbed the former espada's hands. "This way!" Nel said with a giggle and shunpoed themselves to the top of the shop's roof.

Jinta stepped in front of the lieutenant and espada, his club-like weapon in batting position. "Ora, ora!" he cried as the monster jumped to the roof. He swung but growled when the hollow got past him.

"Che. Oi, he's coming your way!" he warned.

Ururu dashed to the threat, "Excuse me," and began to throw punches.

"Wait here," Yachiru told Nel. She, Ururu, and Jinta began to gang up on monster who began to have a hard time dodging their attacks. "Come on, lets get him!" Jinta shouted. "One hit should kill this clone!"

* * *

"Leaving the children by themselves to fight?" the hollow in front of Kenpachi asked.

"Heh, they can take care of themselves. I would be more worried about yourself," the man grinned. "That clone of yours is going to get pummeled."

The two attacked each other fiercely, Kenpachi given more cuts while the hollow began to bleed all over the place. "It was pretty fun but now the fighting is beginning to bore me," Kenpachi said. The monster gasped when it felt the rusty sword stab him through the stomach. "If you disappear, I bet that clone will too, right?" Kenpachi asked. Blood poured out of Veneno Gato's mouth. "Saa…I wonder." It lifted its head to flash the captain a bloody smile, then, poofed to nothing. "Shit!" Kenpachi cursed as he realized the trick.

* * *

Urahara cursed under his breath as he, too, saw the trick on Kenpachi. "Kids, the one you're fighting is the real one!" he yelled.

"Huh?" Jinta and Ururu looked over at the shopkeeper. The monster kicked the two children, knocking them away.

"Damn it!" Urahara and Tessai quickly ran to the two injured kids.

* * *

"Lets go, Ichigo!" Yoruichi commanded.

Ichigo nodded and the two quickly began to attack the last hollow.

"Go, Ichi, go!" Yachiru cheered, Nel close behind her.

Then, the monster began to retch, saliva running down its chin as a long object slowly came up from its throat. Yoruichi and Ichigo watched as Veneno Gato slowly pulled out a sword from its mouth.

"Ichigo, now!" Yoruichi shouted.

Right as the sword was fully out, the two skewered the hollow. With the last of its strength, the monster threw the sword up in the air then burst, splattering a heavy, sticky goo.

Hanatarou's eyes widened when he saw the sticky mess land on Ichigo, Yoruichi, Yachiru, and Nel. He knew that attack! "Oh no, this is bad!"

"Ugh, what the hell is this shit?!" Ichigo struggled to get out of the mess. "Wait, then that means that what we attacked was also a clone!"

Yoruichi gasped as she realized the situation. 'Then that means!!' She looked up at the sky where the sword was coming down. In a poof of smoke, the sword turned into Veneno Gato. It came down from the air, with a clawed hand extended, aimed at Yachiru and Nel who were struggling in the goo. Yoruichi moved to shunpo but gasped as the sticky mess held her down.

"Yachiru!" Kenpachi cried.

The pink-haired lieutenant tried to use her reiatsu to break from the sticky bond but felt the goo drain her energy. "Ken-chan! Something's weird! I can't use my reiatsu!"

"Yachiru! Nel!" Ichigo screamed, his eyes. He felt helpless as the energy-sucking goop held him down, the children just a few feet away from him!

* * *

Ishida blinked when he noticed someone missing from his side. He looked ahead to see the medic running ahead. "Hanatarou, stop! You'll get hurt!" he yelled but winced from the pain in his ribs.

Hanatarou ran as fast as he could, past the others who were too bewildered to move. His legs seemed to come to life, shaking the dust off and remembering how fast they used to run in the past life. Although he couldn't shunpo, the medic exerted chakra from his feet to boost his speed. He didn't care anymore if anyone would notice. 'Faster…Faster!' he thought. However, even he could see that shunpo, let alone running, would not get him to the children in time. Hanatarou closed his eyes in frustration as he ran. 'Just a little faster! If only…if only…!'

* * *

Amidst the drops of water…he heard a low chuckle.

Hanatarou opened his eyes, finding himself in front of the mirror, water splashing his ankles.

"You want to help those children, don't you?"

"Of course I do!" Hanatarou hissed. Only the monster within him stirred him up so easily. He glared at the mirror, the monster within obscured by darkness only showing a pair of glowing golden eyes.

"I could help you," the demon whispered enticingly. Paper seals appeared plastered all around the mirror, half of them worn away.

"N-no!" Hanatarou stepped back, comprehending what the demon wanted. "I'm not taking off the seals."

"Who ever said to take off all of them?" the demon said. "Just one would be enough…If you don't…Well," it slowly grinned with blood-lust in its eyes. "I don't mind seeing the blood of two children."

That did it. Hanatarou shook with frustration. 'Screw it!' He quickly grabbed one paper seal and ripped it off.

* * *

Yachiru struggled desperately, the claws coming closer and closer. She glanced behind to see Nel crying, blubbering, "Itsyugo! Itsyugo!" The lieutenant began to feel her eyes stinging and turned to look at her father-figure for the last time. Then, she squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for the pain.

Blood danced in the air.

Yachiru felt something warm drip on her face, the familiar metallic smell coming not from her but in front of her. She slowly opened her eyes and gasped to see the small 4th Squad.

"Hana-chan!" she gasped.

"Hanatawou!" Nel blubbered, tears and snot falling like a fountain.

Everyone gaped at the timid boy, claws impaled all the way through his chest until the white hand of the hollow was in his body. Blood flowed from his wound and mouth.

"Hana…tarou," Ichigo whispered.

"Hanatarou!" Rukia and Orihime cried.

'Shit, this is bad!' Kei thought. Glancing side to side to make sure no one noticed, the mongoose disappeared in a poof of smoke.

Veneno Gato narrowed its eyes at the medic. "You…" he growled.

"Don't…you dare…touch the children!," Hanatarou hissed through gritted teeth. His small hands held on to the monster's arm. If he didn't catch the monster, his chest would probably have been impaled up to the hollow's elbow. He lifted his eyes to the hollow's. Cold, gray eyes met yellow.

The monster blinked, then threw its head back and began to laugh, much to everyone's confusion. "So that's it!" he shouted. "I understand now!" He sighed as he finished laughing then brought his hand up, lifting Hanatarou to his face. The medic cried in pain. "I can sense it now, finally, your chakra. I was suspicious of you. The way your threw that rock to distract Brother was so familiar. Now I realize, it was the same as if throwing a kunai! Hahaha, who would have thought, that a lowlife like you was a shinobi! Well, like they say, 'Don't judge a book by its cover.'"

"…Hanatarou…is it true?"

The boy glanced over to see Orihime, disbelief written all over her face. He glanced at the others. Disbelief was written on all of their faces, except maybe Urahara and Yoruichi.

"Is it true? Are you really a shinobi?" Orihime asked again. She was able to accept Ichigo as vizard because he was protecting her but… the way shinobis were described…killers in cold blood…Hanatarou would never do that! Not gentle, kind Hanatarou.

Hanatarou turned his gaze away from her face, unable to answer.

"Hahaha, look at them! Did they not know what you truly were?" Veneno Gato laughed then turned to Orihime. "Lady, this boy has probably killed hundreds of people."

Hanatarou flinched when the hollow sniffed him. "The smell of blood is still on you although a bit faint, and I'm not talking about your own blood," the feline hollow grinned. "How many did you kill, huh? How many women? Children?"

Hanatarou remained quiet.

"Why don't you come with me?" Veneno Gato offered. "Become one of us, boy, and be free to do whatever you want. I know how the shinigamis treat us, shinobis. So what do you say?"

"How about…you…shut up!"

The monster flinched when he felt a quick burst of alien chakra from the boy. Hanatarou quickly used his left hand to dig into his medic bag, producing a kunai. He brought the weapon down to stab the hollow's wrist, blood splattering on his face. He gripped the kunai with both hands and tore through the muscles and bones with all his strength, successfully severing the hand in his chest from the arm.

"GAAAHHH!!" The monster screamed in pain, blood spurting from the stump.

Hanatarou fell to the ground as the clawed hand melted away in the air. He gasped as the loss of blood began to affect him.

"You brat," Veneno Gato growled. "I'll kill you!"

Yoruichi watched, impressed, as the boy shakily stood up. Panting, he stood in stance with the kunai in front.

"Soten ni zase, Hyourinmaru!"

The last thing Veneno Gato saw was the fangs of a frozen dragon.

* * *

_"…So, what are you called?" a plain-masked hollow asked, standing in front of a beat up hollow. Plain-mask liked the hollow's spunk, although it may be a bit dense in the head as well as stubborn._

_The feline-masked hollow sat up, licking its wounds from picking a fight with an older, stronger hollow. He cautiously stared at the plain-masked hollow who stood by during the fight. "…Veneno Gato…What's it to you?"_

_"Want to stick by me?" Plain-mask asked. "You're interesting."_

_Veneno Gato stared at him like he grew a second head. "W-what the hell? What kind of question is that? Anyways, only weak hollows stick together in groups and I ain't gonna be one of them!"_

_Plain-mask shrugged. "You just seemed interesting."_

_"Anyways, w…what about you? I told you mine, so what are you called?"_

_"Others just call me whatever they want. I don't care."_

_"…Then…can I call you…Brother?" Veneno Gato asked. The word "Brother" tasted so familiar, as if it was connected to something from the past he couldn't remember._

_"Brother" shrugged again and began to walk away. "Sure."_

_Veneno Gato watched as the hollow walked off, then scrambled to its feet._

_"Oi…don't just walk away from me!" he shouted as he ran after Brother.

* * *

  
_

Aahhh finissheeddd. so, how was it, the fight? aahh!!!... last part was supposed to show a softer side of hollows and make you be like "AAWWW VENENO GATOO!" Especially when I learn about Grimmjow's and Nnoitra's past, I couldnt help but be like "THEY'RE JUST MISUNDERSTOOOOODDD!!! BWAAHH!!!"

**What really did happen to grimmjow? is he dead? oh gawd! cause they just took him out of the picture when nnoitra attacked him :(**

haaa so i guess review please?


	12. i'm so sorryyy but please read notice!

No this isn't a new chapter as you can see... i am soooo sorry for those who've been waiting for so long..it's been what...some months?!!! or something like that.

aahhh i'm sorry to say that i'm going to stop on this story. **HOWEVER** that doesnt mean i'm quitting on this...**i'm planning on starting a new, different version of this storyline.**

I couldn't think of anything and with school, exam and random other crap, i've....totally forgotten all about this story!!! (i knooo shame on meehh). i looked through my document and saw the file my story's on and was like **"CRAP!...totally forgot about that!!" lol?**

and i realized..**.i couldnt think of an ending to this story either!!!**

and sooo...i'm planning on starting this story over...with **more organization** on ideas for a plot eheheheh...

and also, it's summer break!!! so there's plenty of time!!!...right?

so i hope that if i put up the new version of this story, you'll read that one ;

**gomenasaaiiiii!!!~~~**

oh, has anyone watched **Hetalia**? i cant find episodes 19 and up!! ...and did you hear about some Koreans freaking out over the korean character in Hetalia? i dunno if the character's in the anime but in the manga, Korea grabs Japan's chest rofl.

i dun get what the big deal is and i'm korean too. the picture of korea grabbin japan made me laugh rofl... especially their expressions. it's like:

**Korea: "I GOTCHA NOW!" or "YESH BOOBIES!" (although japan character is a dude lol)**

**Japan: "ARGH!! WTFFFFFFFF"**


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